Pirate's Life: The Last Stand
by OptimusPrime2017
Summary: Post DMTNT. The British are eliminating the pirates, ship by ship. Captain Jack Sparrow prepares to lead old friends and even a former lover of his own into battle. The crew of the Black Pearl knows that they'll have to make their final stand, but where and when? Can he and the remaining pirates survive the attack against the British or will they perish, like many before them?
1. Prologue

**OptimuePrime2017 presents to you,**

 **A Pirates of the Caribbean fanfic;**

 **Pirates' Life: The Last Stand**

 **Prologue:**

"Lord Beckett, sir?" A naval soldier entered the man's office.

"Ah, hello Commodore." Beckett looked up.

"What are the plans for the next attack?" The commodore asked.

"We'll send in all of our forces and destroy what's left of piracy." Beckett vowed. "I will finish what my father started."

"He would be proud, sir." The soldier smiled weakly.

"Send a fourth of the fleet south towards the Caribbean." He ordered. "Send another fourth to the Atlantic. The other half will stay here until further notice."

"Yes, sir." The commodore nodded. "It will be done immediately."

"I should hope so." Beckett crossed his arms. "Commodore, go with the Caribbean fleet."

The man nodded in agreement. "So I will."

"We will crush the remains of those filthy pirates."

 **So, Lord Beckett is obviously not Cutler Beckett, who is no longer living. Just an OC son of his actually. So, yeah.**


	2. Chapter 1: Hoping Against Hope

**I think this chapter will be from Elizabeth's POV. Idk why, but it just feels right, y'know?**

 **Chapter 1:**

Elizabeth sat on the same cliff she'd been on the day Will came back. She watched the Navy ships as they sailed off towards the sea and ocean.

She couldn't help, but to wonder where her old friend and ally Captain Jack Sparrow was. Was he even alive? She could guess that he was. Jack was a smart man, despite his mischievous nature. She hoped that he and his crew were faring well out on the Caribbean. Last time she'd seen him was before she'd returned home to Port Royal, after her husband became the captain of the Flying Dutchman. Jack had been in great condition then, so she could only pray that he was doing fine now.

"Hey." A familiar voice came.

"Hey, Will." Elizabeth smiled and turned as her husband sat down beside her in the grass.

"You okay?" Will asked, concern in his eyes.

She nodded. "Just worried about Jack and his crew. The Navy has sent out so many ships."

"I'm sure Jack's doing fine." He tried to reassure her, though there was a hint of doubt in his voice. "Jack can find his way out of almost any situation. You know that."

"Almost." Elizabeth repeated with a pang of guilt as she remembered how she'd left him for the Kraken. "What if he can't? Look how many ships there are, WIll. One ship against all of those? I don't know…"

"I'm sure he'll team up with some others." WIll told her quietly. "Maybe…nevermind."

"What? What were you going to say?" She turned towards him curiously.

"Maybe we can go out there and help them." His voice was just above a whisper. "But if we do, it won't we worth it. We wouldn't stand a chance. Dozens of ships against Jack and the others. Even the Black Pearl won't hold through all of that."

"That's why we should help him!" She reminded him boldly. "Will, we're pirates too, remember? They need us. Our kind needs us. Please."

He looked her in the eyes before looking away. "I don't know, Elizabeth. I don't want to lose you out there."

"If one of us dies, we die together." Elizabeth promised.

Will gave a small, sad smile. "Alright. We're going to help Jack."

She pulled him into a passionate kiss, deeper than the one she'd shared with Jack the moment she'd tricked him. After a few moments, they pulled apart.

"I love you, William Turner." She smiled warmly.

"I love you too, Elizabeth Turner." He grinned affectionately.

"Do you think Henry and Carina would like to join us to help Jack?"

"Maybe. We should ask them. Then we'll need to get a ship somehow."

"Well, let's hurry so we can leave by tonight. Jack needs us."

"Agreed."


	3. Chapter 2: It's All About Freedom

**TMNT: Yep, of course they are. :P Got to have the characters from the latest movie in it too, since this is more like a sequel to DMTNT/SR. Wouldn't be the same if I kept them out of it.**

 **MMM: Yeah, they don't stand much of a chance. Beckett's son is certainly making sure of that. Sending out dozens of ships in each direction.**

 **Captain Jack's POV**

 **Chapter 2:**

Captain Jack Sparrow walked among the remains of Tortuga, frowning. He kicked a skull out of the way. Edward Teague and Joshamee Gibbs followed him.

"They be hunting us, aye, Jack?" Gibbs asked.

"Aye, mate." Jack replied grimly. "We're no longer safe anywhere out 'ere."

"What do you reckon we do, Jackie?" Teague asked his son.

"We can't run from this." He sighed. He frowned as he stepped into a skeletal ribcage. He yanked on his foot. "Oh bugger...C'mon…" He tried to yank his foot free again, only resulting in pulling his foot out of his boot. He let out an exasperated sigh. "Really…?"

"Jack!" Gibbs reminded him that he wasn't alone.

"Right…" He cleared his throat. "We fight. It's all we can do, unless you count parlaying, which would result in us being hanged anyway." He pulled his boot out of the skeleton's ribcage and put it back on his foot. "Either we go down fighting or we die as cowards."

"Sounds like a plan." His First Mate gave a determined smile.

"A dangerous one." Teague nodded.

"Well...we could try to run away, but we can't outrun the world now, can we?" Jack raised an eyebrow. "They'd catch us eventually."

"Jackie, you've seen what they did to Tortuga." His father gestured to the remains of everything around them. "Do you really think that we truly stand a chance?"

"...No, Dad." He shook his head. "We stand no chance, but it's still worth trying."

"Is it?" Gibbs asked quietly. "Tortuga had to be at least half of our population, Jack. I reckon more. We'll lose everything in this final battle."

"I know, mate." Jack sighed. "Look, you two don't have to fight, but I am. They're trying to take away our freedom don't you see? I can't let them do that."

"And why not?" Gibbs asked him curiously.

"Being a pirate is all about freedom, savvy?"

"Fine." Teague decided. "I'm in. Only because it's you, Jackie, and if I know you, you'll get yourself killed."

"Probably will anyway." He shrugged carelessly. "Gibbs?"

The man looked thoughtful for a moment before he replied,"Aye, Jack, I'm with you too."

Jack smiled wryly. "Good then. Let's get back to the ships and start gathering what's left of us, savvy?"

Both men nodded in agreement.

"Lead the way, Jackie." Teague encouraged him.

"We'll take what we can…" He nodded with determination.

"And give them nothing back." Gibbs finished strongly.


	4. Chapter 3: Convincing an Ally

"Why did you leave me on that island, you bastard?!" A brown haired Spanish female shouted at him.

Jack put up his hands innocently. "You were dangerous to me. You could've killed me if you'd wanted and I'd have had no chance."

"Bueno, quiero matarte ahora!" Angelica retorted. "Why did you come here, Jack?"

"We need your help." He began. Then he went on to tell her about the circumstances that had brought him to Spain-to her. Once he finished, he looked her straight in her chocolate brown eyes. "Will you join us in our final fight for freedom?"

She seemed to have calmed down quite a bit, to Jack's liking. At least she didn't look like she wanted to murder him on the spot. "I will, Jack. I have an idea too."

"An idea? What idea?" He perked up.

"Meet me at Whitecap Bay. That is where our final stand will be." She told him.

"You're not seriously thinking of using the mermaids to help us, are you?" He gaped at her.

"I am, Jack." Angelica nodded. "I can convince them to help us. They are strong enough to sink a ship with their bare hands."

"Aye, true." Jack agreed. "Alright, we'll meet you at Whitecap Bay." He took a couple paces back until his back thumped against the door. "Angelica, it's a great idea."

"I know, Jack. That's why I told you about it."

"Oh! Of course."

"You haven't changed at all, Jack." She told him with a small smile.

"Course not." He smirked in reply.

Angelica slowly began walking towards him. "I know you came here for more than getting me to help."

"Maybe." Jack gave a half shrug.

She reached him, pinning him to the door. "What is it you want, Jack?"

Her hand brushed his cheek, making his voice crack as he said,"You'll have to figure that out yourself."

"I can make you say it, without a sword to your throat." She reminded him. "You know that, Jack. Sin una pistola en la cabeza."

"You probably can." He agreed, his voice catching in his throat as he said the last word. Her hand brushed his chin and he corrected himself. "I know, you can."

Angelica moved back a couple of paces, letting him free from being against the door. "Tell me, Jack, what is it that you want?"

Jack walked away from the door, his footsteps uneven, as usual when he was on land. "You tell me. Why do you want to know anyway?"

"It could be important." Her eyes sparkled.

He tripped as soon as he stopped paying attention to what he was doing. He let out a strangled noise of surprise, twisting in midair. His back thumped onto the wooden floor. Before he could get up, Angelica was on top of him, her arms pinning him down by the shoulders.

"Hey...lemme up." He complained.

"First…" She began, brushing his cheek again with her hand,"tell me what you want."

His eyes closed slightly and he replied through a groan. "You."

She sat up on his midsection, giving him more room to breath. "I should have known, Jack." Her fingers fumbled with the latch of his belt and it let out a clink.

Jack sat up abruptly. He gave a small smirk before becoming serious again. "C'mon, we need to get to work, savvy?"


	5. Chapter 4: Faith

**Sorry I'm taking so long to update stuff. Just came back to school from spring break and I have final exams coming up- my first is this Thursday. Wish me luck.**

 **Chapter 4:**

Five ships sailed across the caribbean, the waves violently hitting their sides. Lightning cracked across the dark sky and thunder roared through the air. The Black Pearl lead the ships, its sails and hull nearly blending into the dark surroundings. Captain Jack Sparrow gripped the wheel tightly with one hand. His other hand was holding his hat to his head, unsurprisingly.

"Captain!" A voice shouted from one of the other ships.

They must've been having issues because of the storm then. Jack rolled his eyes and sighed. There was nothing anyone aboard the other ships could do to help them, which would be bad if they happened to start sinking.

"Lookout!" Gibbs hollered as a lightning bolt struck the top of the Pearl's main mast.

Luckily, the charred mast didn't fall over. Jack sighed in relief, only to jump in surprise as a wave splashed over the quarterdeck, drenching him. He frowned in disapproval.

Lightning blasted the hull of the struggling ship. Screams followed the roaring thunder as the ship began to sink.

"Keep going! We have to leave them behind!" Jack shouted to the crew, who watched the other ship in shock.

Slowly, the Pearl's crew got back to work, securing everything on deck and making sure that the sails were still intact. They would make it through the storm, Jack knew it. He had faith in his Pearl.

Another bolt nearly scared his hat off his head. He forced himself to remember.

To remember that they could count on the Black Pearl.


	6. Chapter 5: Preparing

**Apparently I haven't updates since just after spring break. It's the second day of summer vacation now. Wow. Uh...Sorry.**

 **Chapter 5:**

Four ships sat in front of Whitecap Bay. The crew of the Black Pearl sat around lazily, bored. Jack stood near the front of the ship, looking for another. Angelica had told him that the name of her ship was The Bloody Dragon. He was just looking for it, waiting for her to arrive. Some of the pirates from the other ships had set up a camp on the island, not far into the trees. They were preparing in case they were forced onto land somehow. Smart idea.

Jack glanced at the beach, watching men carry supplies from the dinghies. He looked back over the water, spotting the faint outline of a ship in the mist. He smiled. Angelica and her crew were here.

*X*

The crew of The Bloody Dragon lowered the anchor and the ship docked next to the other four. Angelica walked off and conversed with one of the men helping with the camp on land. She ordered some of her crew to join in and help. She spotted Jack watching her from aboard the Black Pearl and climbed up to join him. She walked over, leaning on the ship's railing.

"Hello, Jack." She greeted.

"'Ello, love." He smirked. "Glad ye've made it."

"I see you've gathered some allies."

"Aye. Two ships and the mermaids can't win alone."

"What makes you think we can even with five?" She asked.

"The more, the better." He responded. "But to tell ye the truth, we stand no chance."

"I know, Jack." Angelica agreed. "The mermaids might not even be enough."

"Best hope they are then." Jack told her. "Ye should go convince them now, 'cause we won't know when they come."

"I will." She nodded, beginning to climb down the rope ladder on the side of the ship. "See you later, Jack."

He smirked. "Good luck."


	7. Chapter 6: The Turners Arrive

**Now onto updating this story. School, YouTube, and Discord are a LOT of work.**

 **Chapter 6:**

"Captain!" A voice cried. "They're 'ere!"

Jack snapped his head to the man who cried out, seeing him pointing. He looked in the direction the hand was pointing towards, out over the water. In the distance, a ship could be seen.

"Ready the cannons!" He called up to Gibbs, who had half the crew aboard the Pearl.

"Aye, Cap'n!" The First Mate responded, repeating the order as he hurried to work.

The men on the other four ships did the same. Only half the crews were on the ship, the others taking a position on land. That half on land included Jack himself. Angelica was aboard the Bloody Dragon, her First Mate in command of her land men.

"Ready your weapons!" Edward Teague ordered the land crews, being among them. He made his way over to his son, stopping beside him. "Ye ready for this, Jackie? It be the final battle ye may ever fight."

"I know." Jack replied, looking at him grimly. "None of us will ever be ready for 'his though, Dad."

"Aye, true." The older pirate nodded thoughtfully.

"Do ye think we can win, even if we 'ave the mermaids on our side?" He asked.

"I don't know, Jackie. Best hope so." The Keeper sighed.

The ship continued to draw closer and as soon as it was close enough, Jack realized that it didn't have any weapons ready. A single ship, come straight towards a small fleet, not preparing it's cannons? Peculiar.

"Hold your fire!" Jack called out, uncertainly.

The ship lowered it's anchor as it reached the other ones. It's crew raised the sails. Jack took a few steps forward, the water up to his knees. He squinted as he tried to identify the people aboard the other ship.

"Wait a minute...is that who I think it is?" He mumbled to himself.

"Ahoy, Jack! Need some help?" The familiar voice of William Turner came.


	8. Chapter 7: We Need to Focus on Now

"What are ye doing 'ere?" Jack asked as Elizabeth and Will climbed out of their dinghy and onto land.

"We saw all the ships leaving Port Royal." She explained.

"You're outnumbered, Jack." Her husband put in. "You need all the help you can get. Henry and Carina are on the ship with some others we picked up to help."

"If we're outnumbered that badly, why come help?" The pirate captain asked, raising an eyebrow. "We're not likely to get out of 'ere alive, mate."

"Jack, we came to help because you're our friend. We betrayed each other a lot- I even killed you- but that doesn't change anything." Elizabeth declared.

"The more of us, the harder it is for them." Will added.

"Guess we'll see, eh?" Jack replied with a small shrug. "Best hope ye're right."

"What is this place?" The man asked, looking around.

"Ah, that's right. Ye weren't 'ere last time I was." The captain remembered. "T'is, mate, is Whitecap Bay. Home of the mermaids."

"Mermaids?" Elizabeth looked surprised. "I thought they were a myth."

"Never assume anything is a myth. Remember the Kraken? That's very much real, in't?" Jack pointed out reluctantly. He pulled up his sleeve and pointed to an old scar. "This in't the only one it left me."

She looked away, clearly feeling the guilt of it once again. "I'm sorry about that…"

"It's fine." The captain waved it off. "That was years ago. Now, we worry 'bout what's 'bout to happen, savvy?"

"Jack's right." Will agreed, nodding. "We need to focus on the attack that's about to happen, not the Kraken attack from so long ago."

"Alright." Elizabeth drew in a deep breath, composing herself. "What do we need to do, Jack?"

Jack gave a small smile before replying. "We need half your crew on land, the other half on the water in your ship. Don't forget to have 'em line her up with the rest o' 'em."

The former blacksmith nodded firmly. "Aye."

He and his wife set off to their ship to tell their crew what to do.


	9. Chapter 8: Pirate Extinction Has Begun

**Let the battle commence...**

 **Chapter 8:**

"Sparrow, we have incoming!" A pirate shouted from one of the ships, pointing off into the distance.

Jack followed his gaze, spotting a few rows of Navy ships emerging form the mist, four a row. Their flags flew about and their colored coats were just barely visible, like ants. His eyes narrowed. This was it; the beginning of the pirates' final stand.

"Cannons at the ready!" He shouted at everyone, hearing them rushing to fulfill the order.

 _Where are those mermaids?_

*X*

Commodore Jervis (the man who spoke to Beckett in the prologue) smiled at the sight of the pirates, cornered by Whitecap Bay. Their small fleet of ships against twelve ships. Not a chance they'd win. He was certain of it. The pirates would be wiped off the face of the Earth, no doubt about it. It was obvious.

"Orders, sir?" One of the soldiers, the ship's First mate, asked.

"Prepare the cannons." He smiled confidently. "We have them now."

"Prepare to fire!" The soldier called out, rushing to help the others.

The cannons were ready long before they reached the pirates and their ships. Their ships sailed to meet the much larger fleet, pirates preparing to rush onto the decks of the other ships. The seemed to be arguing with each other rather than getting along, as they should've been under such circumstances.

The commodore spotted a ground of pirates on land, among them the infamous and wanted Captain Sparrow. He stood talking to a much older man, whom he looked similar to. The older man had a look of uncertainty and worry on his face. The pirates themselves didn't expect to win. What a surprise.

"Let's have a couple of ships head to land, some pirates are there waiting." He ordered another soldier.

"I'll see to it, Commodore." The soldier responded, hurrying to have it taken care of.

Within minutes, four of the twelve ship fleet were heading towards the beach. The pirates drew their swords, seeing them. Cannonfire filled the air as the two fleets met in battle. Moments later, the land fleet reached the beach and unboarded their ships, swords at the ready. Barely audible sword clanging was heard in the midst of the cannonfire.

The pirate extinction had begun.


	10. Chapter 9: Back Into the River

Jack kicked one of the soldiers back, who stumbled right into the sword of another pirate, screaming in pain. He smiled, turning to fight another enemy. He managed to somehow stab through two soldiers at once, as they were fighting other pirates. They collapsed, motionless.

Screams filled the air, more and more often in the first few minutes of the battle. Then there were less, as if a huge portion of men had died. Bodies, both soldier and pirate, littered the sandy beach of the island and parts of the forest. But most of them were pirates. These soldiers had been trained particularly well.

Jack and the remaining land crew found themselves pushed deeper into the forest. The British Navy had the upper hand. The soldiers weren't just trained well, but they had strength in numbers too. Many pirates ended up against two or three at a time.

The Pearl's captain was growing exhausted, as well as many of the others. Sweat trailed down their faces and deep concentration creased their brows. More than a few moved slower due to bleeding wounds and became clumsy. But not the captain. He pushed himself to pay attention to where he stepped.

He did, at first…

After awhile of fighting and managing to stay on his feet, he grew less wary of the environment and put all of his focus into fending off the attackers. He spotted an old trail, a familiar one, through the trees. One he'd travelled only a few years ago, captive to Blackbeard himself. He took another step back, his foot flailing in air as it searched for the ground. Suddenly, he knew exactly where he was. The gorge.

There wasn't enough weight on the front of his body, so he toppled over the side of the gorge with a startled shout. As he fell he somehow got flipped chest down. As he approached the bottom of the gorge in his fall, he spotted some large rocks poking out of the river. And he was right over them. Realization hit him moments before he was slammed into them, losing consciousness...

*X*

"Jack!" Elizabeth screamed as she saw the pirate captain fall down the gorge. But instead of landing in the water, she saw, he slammed into a rock, gut first. She saw him slide off of it, into the rushing river, leaving the rock stained with a red liquid. Blood.

Will was at her side in an instant. "What is it, Elizabeth?" He asked, worried, as he looked at her.

Unable to force out words, she just pointed into the water. He looked down into the gorge carefully, spotting a dark form getting tugged downstream. He spotted a familiar pirate captain hat on top of the water, following the body and current.

"Jack…" He murmured, understanding.

"Let's follow the river downstream!" Gibbs suggested from nearby as he stabbed a soldier.

The couple got to their feet in agreement. The three of them began following the side of the gorge, watching where the river turned and twisted. They stumbled down a steep slope, Will tripping and rolling to the bottom, looking surprised as he sat up and got to his feet.

"I'm alright!" He called up to them, rubbing the back of his neck.

Gibbs and Elizabeth reached the bottom of the hill shortly after. Then the three of them resumed their trek downstream. They burst out of the trees, scrambling across the sandy beach and shielding their eyes from the sudden burst of extra light. They dashed over to the mouth of the river, waiting, just waiting.

Moments later, the form of Jack nearly got pulled past them and into the ocean. Gibbs managed to stretch an arm out and grab the man's leg. Will went to his side and grabbed the captain's other leg. Together, they dragged him onto the beach and away from the river. They rolled him onto his back.

"He's not breathing." Will pointed out, concerned.

The former blacksmith gently pushed on the pirate's stomach, hoping to clear some water from his lungs. Instead, fresh blood stained the man's white shirt.

"Don't do that!" The First Mate warned him. "He's injured, ye see? Ye could make it worse, Will."

"Sorry…" The man responded, too concerned about his friend to be guilty. "How bad is it?"

"Did you say he's not breathing?" Elizabeth asked, dreading the truth as she scrambled over to see what was going on.

"Aye, miss." Gibbs replied, though he looked deep in thought. Then he snapped back to look down at the unconscious pirate. He unbuttoned and took off the man's shirt and vest, tossing them to the side. He looked down at the man again, nearly wincing at the sight of the wound. "That's pretty bad…"

Elizabeth just watched in silence, worry and shock on her face. Will looked at Gibbs before looking back down at the unconscious pirate, who was still as unresponsive as ever. There was a splash in the water behind them and they whirled around to see a greenish-blue tail vanish under the surface.

"Mermaids." Gibbs spoke up, his voice grim.

"Is that bad?" Will asked, clearly uneducated in mermaids.

"Can be." The pirate responded. "If they decide to take out our ships, aye."

"How do we know they're not helping us?" Elizabeth asked him.

He raised his eyebrows in a you-have-a-good-point look. "They might be, but it's doubtful."

The former blacksmith looked back over the pirate captain's motionless body, examining the long, deep cut in the man's left ribcage and stomach. "Come on, Jack…" He murmured, mentally praying that the man would be fine. "Come on."

Then, suddenly, the pirate snapped to life, coughing up water and gasping for air. He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, the light obviously hurting them. He opened them again slowly as he stopped coughing and had caught his breath. He tried to sit up, but instead ended up groaning in pain and falling back.

*X*

A look of huge relief had covered Elizabeth's face. "You're alive."

"Well of course I am." Jack answered, then froze. "Wait...what do ye mean?" Then it all slowly came back to him; falling over the side of the gorge, slamming into something dark and hard. Tremendous pain and then...nothing. "Oh...I hit a rock on the way down, didn't I?"

She nodded. "Yes, you did, Jack."

"Explains a lot…" He muttered. He propped himself up on his elbows, glancing down at the nasty gash in his ribcage. "Not a bloody clue how I'm still alive."

"You were dead, Jack." Will spoke up.

"Was I now?" Jack asked, raising an eyebrow as he tried to act like his normal self through the pain. "I've died before, mate. Nothin' new, really."

"Ah, right…" The former blacksmith nodded, remembering.

"Are ye alright, Cap'n?" Gibbs questioned.

"Well, I'm alive, so I guess so." The pirate captain responded, once again trying and failing to sit up all the way. "But I can't even get up…"

His elbows shook beneath his weight and he was forced to lay down flat on his back once again. He sighed deeply, annoyed. He crossed his arms, flinching back and pulling them away as they pushed against his wound.

"Are you sure you're alright, Jack?" Elizabeth asked, concerned.

"No, not really." He admitted, giving a small smirk in an attempt to mask his pained expression.

But they saw past it and the smirk faded. It was hard to smile when the one smiling was in pain. He tried to sit up again, succeeding. He just sat there for a moment, wondering whether it was a good idea to try to get up yet. Warm blood trailed down across his stomach, staining his skin red. He felt a little nauseated for some reason, just sitting upright.

"Jack!" A familiar, angry feminine voice came from the trees. "Dónde estás?!"

"This can't be good…" The pirate captain mumbled to himself.

"The Spanish lass?" Gibbs raised an eyebrow curiously.

Jack nodded, glancing at his friend momentarily. "Aye, mate."

But the older man wasn't looking at him. He was looking over him, at someone else. So were the Turner couple. And the injured pirate knew who it was without needing to turn around. They were looking at Angelica.

The pirate captain froze as he felt something soft and smooth moving across his back. He heard someone moving through the sand directly next to him. Then Angelica stood before him, her arms crossed across his chest. She studied his wound for a moment before she finally spoke.

"What happened now, Jack?" She asked, her voice cool.

"Fell into the river and hit a rock on the way down." Jack responded simply. Then his gaze turned curious. "Ye get them to listen? The mermaids?"

The other three looked confused as they watched the two converse.

"No, not quite." She sighed. "I got one to look for you though, Jack."

"That's bloody pointless." He told her. "We need 'em to agree to help us or they might get killed as well."

"That's what I told them. Ellos saben que probablemente van a morir." Angelica explained.

"Then their deaths are their own fault." Jack stated.

"Jack, the battle!" Gibbs spoke up, silencing whatever the Spanish woman was going to say.

"Ye go on ahead, mate." The Pearl's captain told him. "I'll catch up."

"Are ye sure, Cap'n?" The First Mate asked.

"Aye, best for ye to be helpin' the others. Savvy?"

"Aye...Will, Elizabeth, let's go then."

"Alright." Will responded in agreement, drawing his sword.

Elizabeth took unsheathed her own, glancing back at Jack over her shoulder as they dashed back into the trees. "Good luck, Jack."

Now it was just him and Angelica left on the beach, no one else in sight.


	11. Chapter 10: A Confession

"So, why were ye lookin' for me?" The Pearl's captain looked down at the sand, his thoughts focused on something else besides the conversation he just started.

"I already told you." She responded. "The mermaids won't listen."

"Ah, right." He remembered. "Forgot ye said that."

"Which river did you fall into?" She changed the subject.

He glanced up at her, snapping out of his thoughts. "The one I was forced to jump into last time, except this time I actually did hit one of those bloody rocks at the bottom."

"¿Estás bien?" She asked, correcting herself in English at his confused look. "Are you alright, Jack?"

Jack gave her a miserable look before replying. "Could be a lot better…"

*X*

Angelica hid her worry well as she looked down at the battered, injured pirate captain. There was a look of obvious pain in his eyes, though he was obviously trying not to look weak. He was doing a poor job at trying to look cheerful, anyhow. Why was she worried anyway? Jack was known for getting out of being hanged on several occasions. He could survive a single wound to the rib-cage.

 _Or could he?_

A voice spoke at the back of her mind and she couldn't bear to imagine life without news of the pirate before her doing crazy things. She'd always told Jack that she hated him, whenever things went horribly wrong. She'd been angry with him, but she'd never actually hated him. This pirate wasn't annoying to her, though she did her best to pretend he was. She did it because she wanted to hide the fact that she still loved him despite all their troubles over the years, since they were younger. Even after he left her on Rumrunner's Isle, she still loved him.

But seeing him in pain like this really worried her. It was hard to hide it, but she didn't do bad at hiding her fear for his life. When the mermaids had disagreed to help in the fight against the British Navy, she'd asked them to search for Jack for her. She'd heard so many cries of pain and so many bodies hit the ground both on land and at the ships that she hadn't known if he was still hanging in there with the others. They'd agreed and a mermaid scouted the edges of the island only to tell her that there was a man who looked similar to Jack lying unconscious on the beach across from where they were. She'd immediately raced away in that direction, praying that he'd be fine.

But seeing him now before her tortured her mind. He tried to act happy even though he was clearly in pain. Her heart ached.

Angelica reached her hand out to him to help him up. He looked at it for a moment, giving a sigh, before he took it and let her pull him to his feet. He groaned deeply, staggering and nearly falling over completely as he managed to land on his hands and knees. One of his hands had moved to hold his wound, pressing against it. She heard him let out a light gasp of pain and she saw blood stain the sand red.

 _Poor Jack._

She immediately helped him lower himself to the ground and roll onto his back. He didn't try sitting up, closing his eyes as his blood stained hand held his ribcage. She leaned down and swiftly kissed his cheek before pulling back. His eyes opened and he glanced up at her, a look of shock covering his face, though the pain of his wound still showed in his eyes.

Their eyes met as he broke the silence in a hoarse voice. "Why?"

Unsure of how to respond, she held her hand out to him. Her voice was stern, unlike how his had been. "Come on, Jack. We need to help the others."

"I'd rather stay here." Jack complained clearing his throat and not moving.

"Jack." Angelica glared at him.

"Fine." He sighed, giving up on his stubbornness.

He took her hand, letting her pull him up to his feet. This time when he stumbled she grabbed him around the waist and pulled him close. She rested her head against his shoulder as they stood there, her breathing in the scents of the river from his wet body. He, in turn, wrapped his arms around her, smiling fondly as he looked down at her. She tilted her head up to look at him, reaching into his dreadlocks with one hand to pull his head down towards her. Their lips met in a passionate kiss, bringing back memories from their younger years. When their lips separated, he hugged her to his chest, accidentally letting a groan slip out as she brushed up against the wound in his ribcage. She closed her eyes, resting her head against him.

"¿Qué tanto duele?" She asked.

"I don't speak Spanish, love." Jack reminded her gently.

"Sorry." Angelica responded, repeating what she had said before in English this time. "How much does it hurt?"

"I'll be fine." The pirate told her, though there was an uncertainty to his voice. "It's not that bad, I've had worse."

"Que-What do you mean?" She glanced up at him in confusion.

"Remember the voodoo doll?" He raised an eyebrow knowingly and then pointed to a scar across his stomach, one that indicated that a horrible gash had once been there.

"I forgot I did that." She commented, before adding,"You deserved it, Jack. You left me again."

"I came back for ye." He pointed out.

"Only after I cut you so many times." Her thick Spanish accent was obvious as she said this.

"Oh...right." Jack mumbled, ending the conversation there.

Angelica smiled inwardly to herself. Pretending to be angry worked well sometimes. The one time she'd actually been angry with him is when he did leave her. She'd been so angry she'd shot her only bullet at him and still missed. She was glad she missed though. To kill him would be to kill the only thing she had left to care for. Her treacherous father was gone- thankfully, though sometimes she still missed him.

"Why did you make me immortal, Jack?" She questioned.

"I told you the sword was poisoned and ye didn't listen." He murmured, nearly sounding like an Englishman rather than a pirate for once in his life. "I couldn't let you die…" He paused for a moment, hesitantly, before he continued. "I couldn't live without ye…" Another pause and a deep breath. "Angelica, I love you. Truly."

He pulled back from her, holding the sides of her head in his hands as he gazed into her chocolate brown eyes, his own full of caring. The memories came back to them both; the memories of what happened at the Fountain of Youth that day.

" _What have you done?!" Angelica had screeched, racing to her fallen father's side._

" _Angelica! DON'T! IT'S POISONED!" Jack had shouted at her, at the top of his lungs._

 _But it was too late. She'd already pulled the sword from her father's body and it had already cut her hand in the process. She'd gazed at it as it began to bleed abnormally, in a strange way._

 _The one-legged man spoke up. "I'm not such the fool to take on Blackbeard without a little...venomous 'vantage."_

 _She'd nearly panicked, sure she was going to die. So she turned towards the one person who had tried to warn her with pleading eyes. "Jack…"_

 _She'd seen the pain in the man's eyes, the sadness already forming. He turned around to search for the lost chalices desperately. The destruction of the Fountain resumed and it was soon reduced to pieces. The one-legged man took Blackbeard's sword, claiming the man's ship and crew as his own. Then they'd left, as well as the Spaniards._

 _Jack had immediately resumed looking for the chalices, despite all the odds of being able to find them._

Angelica rested her head against his chest again, sighing deeply. She could tell that it was hard for Jack to have admitted his love for her. The man usually tried to keep things to himself. It was as if he was afraid of damaging his ego. But she knew it was part of what made him Captain Jack Sparrow, the most wanted pirate around. And that's why she loved him so much. It's why she always would, no matter what problems they face and no matter what crazy things he'd do to her or her to him.

*X*

Jack wrapped his arms around her once again, kissing the top of her head before resting his chin on it. He held her for a few long minutes, the shouts of battle getting nearer. It finally occurred to him that they couldn't stand there arm-in-arm all day. There was a battle going on, a war in fact. A gunshot sounded louder than the others. He let go of Angelica and whirled around, pulling out a pistol and firing the loaded bullet into the chest of an injured Navy soldier, who crumpled to his knees.

"Jack." She gasped, making him turn around in worry.

She looked fine to him, so he gave her a questioning glance. Suddenly he didn't feel too well, pain rippling through his left hip. He looked down at himself to see his dark pants be stained with another color.

 _Looks like he bloody hit somethin' after all, somethin' besides the sand that is._

Jack attempted to smirk it off, failing miserably. He tried to sound as calm as possible as he lied,"I'm fine…"

"No, you're not, Jack. Stop lying to both of us." Angelica murmured, rubbing his cheek with her hand softly. "I think there's a camp in the middle of the island. If we can get you there and get you healed-"

He closed his eyes, sighing. "Angelica...what are the chances of gettin' there without either of us gettin' killed?"

"It's the only chance, Jack. You can't fight like this." She told him. "We have to get you there."

He opened his eyes again. They were full of agony. He nodded slowly, consenting. "Let's go."

The pirate captain quickly reloaded his pistol before putting his shirt and vest back on. Then the two of them entered the protection of the trees, armed, as they headed towards the center of the island.


	12. Chapter 11: To Lose A Leg

Jack picked up a sword that a fallen man had evidently dropped, putting his pistol away and keeping the sword at the ready. It'd be a good temporary replacement until he got a new sword. He examined it as they trekked through the trees, only to bump into Angelica having not realized she'd stopped.

He looked up from what he was doing. "Why are we stoppin'?"

She pointed ahead of them, through a few layers of trees. "The camp is under attack."

He peered in that direction, seeing soldiers trying to force their way through the line of pirates defending the camp. "Not yet. The soldiers haven't broken through."

"But how will we get through, Jack?" She asked, turning to him.

"Crawl beneath their blades." He smirked thoughtfully. "We might get trampled, but it could work."

"And if they see us?"

"Like ye said earlier, it's our only chance."

"Alright, Jack." Angelica sighed. "Just don't get us killed."

"Aye." Jack smirked again. "Follow me."

He led her to the last layer of trees before the camp. Then, giving her a small nod, they slipped out from their cover and up near the fighting men. He got down onto his stomach, groaning painfully, and she got to the ground as well. They began crawling beneath the clashing soldiers and pirates, dodging feet. He found himself somehow knocked around onto his back. A soldier stepped on his leg by accident, looking down curiously. Then the man scowled, driving a broken sword into the pirate captain's right leg.

Jack let out a cry of pain as the man stabbed the sword deeper and dragged it down through his knee and into his lower leg before letting go. Another fighting man accidentally kicked him in the side of the head, and his vision went blurry. Helpless to flee, he felt a hand grab the back of his shirt and drag him through the fighting men, into the pirates' camp. Breathing hard, he fell back to the hard ground as he was let go of. When his vision finally cleared up, he saw Angelica looking over him with worry.

"Jack…" She murmured. "Are you alright?"

"My leg…" He gasped out.

Then she saw it, her eyes widening. "It's alright, Jack." She didn't sound very convinced herself.

"Is...is it a sword?" He asked.

"Yes, it is." She quickly nodded, before gripping the sword's handle. "Hold on, Sparrow, this is going to hurt."

Jack squeezed his eyes shut and bit his lower lip in order to keep from crying out as she pulled the shattered blade from his leg. He heard it hit the ground and felt her lifting him up again from under the arms. She lost her grip on him and his back slammed into the dirt. He groaned turning onto his side to spit out a mouthful of a salty, warm red liquid. Blood. The pain in his head grew quickly and all he wished for was it to end. All of it.

His vision was blurry and then black spots filled it. He closed his eyes for no reason at all- not that he could see anyway. His head hit the dirt as his breathing became heavy. Pain. It was the only thing he could feel, lying there.

"Jack!" Angelica shook him, only succeeding in making the pain impossibly worsen. "Jack! Can you hear me?"

He opened his mouth to reply, but only blood came out, staining his lips and chin red. He let out a cough, more blood spilling out of his mouth. He felt himself being lifted up by her and dragged again, but he couldn't stay awake any longer.

He blacked out.

*X*

Grogan saw the form of a woman dragging an unconscious, bloody man towards the main tent. Immediately he could tell that the man was injured far worse than most. Having no patient in his side tent, he headed out, walking towards the woman.

"Oi, miss!" He called as he came towards her. She saw him and stopped dragging the man. He reached her, realizing who the unconscious man was. "Sparrow…" He murmured, before turning back to her. "I can take him over in me own tent. He's injured worse than many o' the others."

She nodded quickly in agreement. "Rapido. We need to hurry."

"Aye. If he loses much more blood…" Grogan didn't want to think of what would happen.

 _I owe Sparrow my life. He saved me once, I should repay the favor._

He grabbed the man's left leg, carefully scooping up the left one as he saw the long gash running down it. A quick glance of the knee worried him. It didn't look good at all. Together, he and the woman carried him over into the small tent and laid him on a wooden table.

"I know ye're worried about him, but for now I think ye should go help the others defend the camp." He told her. "It's for the best."

"For the best?" She narrowed her eyes darkly. "He's dying!"

"I know, but it'll be harder to operate with ye in 'ere." Grogan explained. "The only one I'm allowin' in 'ere is Cap'n Teague."

"Why only him?"

"He's Sparrow's father."

She gave him a skeptical look. "Fine, but I will be back later."

She stomped out before he could answer. He watched her go with curiosity. _Who was that lady?_

*X*

Captain Teague entered the main tent of the camp, unsurprised to see so many wounded and dying men laying on the ground. He stepped over them as he passed through the rows, curious of who wasn't injured.

"Cap'n Teague!" One of the doctors called to him. "Grogan was lookin' for ye, sir. Says he needs ye in his tent."

He gave a curt nod. "I'll be on my way then."

He went back the way he came, trying not to trip or step on anyone. He couldn't help but to wonder why Grogan needed him. He trusted that the man could do his job alone. Unless…

What if someone he cared for was injured in there?

 _Who would he call me to see?_ He thought for a moment as he exited the main tent and headed towards Grogan's side tent. Then, suddenly, he knew. _Oh no...Jackie._

Teague picked up his pace, undeniably worried now. If Jack was hurt and he was in Grogan's tent, then his life was clearly on the line. He couldn't let the last of his living family die; not while he himself was still on the face of the world.

He reached the tent and stopped, taking a deep breath before he entered. He spotted the Doc examining the wounds of a bloodied, unconscious Jack. The man's shirt had been taken off to reveal a cut in his ribcage, one that didn't seem to have been from a sword. What looked like a bullet hole went through the man's left hip. Completely through. A huge gash went down the man's right leg too. It was nasty looking and something seemed off about the knee.

"And idea what happened to him?" Teague asked the doctor in a low, seemingly calm voice.

"Well," Grogan sighed,"He's clearly been shot. It went right through him, so I'm not sure what side it came from. And for 'is leg, it looks like the man responsible lodged the sword into 'is thigh and then pushed it in a little deeper before he dragged it down 'is whole leg. Destroyed the knee, jus' by lookin' at it I can tell it won't heal properly no matter the treatment- especially since it's Sparrow, y'know. However about the wound in 'is ribcage, I've no idea how that happened."

"What are ye goin' to do about his leg?" Teague asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Either he can walk around with it screwed up for the rest o' 'is life or we can amputate and replace it. Mock my words, it'll be mighty painful for 'im either way."

The pirate captain nodded gravely. "I see…"

"Which do ye think is best for 'im, Teague?" Grogan asked.

"I say jus' cut it off, Doc." The man told him. "The pain won't last his whole lifetime like it would if ye don't."

He nodded thoughtfully. "Aye, true. But the question is; how will it affect him?"

"Jackie reacts to everythin' differently, hard to say." Teague told him. "But, if I know him, he'll prefer going around with a fake leg rather than a constantly painful real one."

"Very well then." The Doc decided. "Then we'll be cuttin' off 'is leg."


	13. Chapter 12: A Family Conflict

"You're going to cut off his leg?" Angelica roared, marching back into the tent angrily.

"It's not goin' to heal, lass." Teague responded calmly. "His knee's destroyed."

"Let me look." She pushed Grogan aside and observed the injured man's knee. A sickening feeling took over her and she just nodded, backing away. "But how will he survive it?"

"He'll be fine." Grogan assured her. "He'll be in a lot of pain, but it won't kill 'im."

"What won't kill who?" Jack asked weakly, having regained consciousness.

"Jackie." Teague sighed. "We're cuttin' off your leg."

"Why are ye cuttin' off me leg?" His brow furrowed in confusion. "It's not that bad, is it?"

"Afraid so." Grogan told him. "That knee in't gonna work properly again, Sparrow."

"What do ye mean?" He asked, gasping in pain as he propped himself up on his elbows.

"He means it won't heal right, boy." Teague responded, slightly irritated.

"Ah...I see." He nodded in understanding. "So where ye cuttin' it at?"

"Right above the knee." Grogan explained. "We're not cuttin' the 'hole thing off."

Thoughtfully, Jack ran a hand across the side of his head before wincing. "That's definitely bruised…"

"Are you alright, Jack?" Angelica finally asked, looking at him.

"Me? Oh, I'm fine." He chuckled sarcastically. Then he sighed as she glared at him. "What do ye think? Of course I'm hurtin'."

"Jackie." Teague spoke up sternly.

"Aye?" He looked up at him.

"Lay back and relax, Grogan's gettin' to work." The older man warned him.

"Oh, this is gonna be great…" He mumbled, lying back with an annoyed grumble.

Grogan took a pair of scissors and cut off the pant leg just lower than Jack's mid thigh. He pulled it out of the way and threw it to the floor. He took a tourniquet and tied it around the same spot, cutting off blood flow to the right leg. He took a long bone saw from the floor and lifted it up. The injured pirate captain glanced at it nervously.

"Relax, Jack." Angelica told him quietly, holding his shoulders down.

"Relax…" He muttered sarcastically to himself.

He clenched his jaw shut, but he could never had fully braced himself from the pain that he was about to feel. The saw connected with his already torn flesh and a gasp escaped from behind his gritted teeth. He felt it moving back and forth across his thigh, like a rope sliding in between fingers. Except much more painful. There was almost no noise inside the tent besides the sound of cutting flesh and his groans. He tried to yank his left shoulder from Angelica's grasp, but she pushed it back against the wooden table. He squeezed his eyes shut as he endured the pain, trying to hold back the groans and whimpers of suffering. Then the saw struck his bone.

Jack's eyes snapped open briefly and a louder yelp burst from him. His eyes fell closed again, but this time he wasn't squeezing them shut. He'd simply lost the energy to keep them open. A sweat broke on his forehead. The air was filled with the sound of metal on bone, a horrible grating noise. He had to breath quickly and shallowly to stay conscious.

"Jack!" Angelica murmured urgently.

"Keep going." Teague order Grogan, looking unphased.

The other man nodded solemnly. "Best it be done with."

When the sounds of grating bone finally stopped, the pain was much greater. He felt the saw digging into the flesh on the other side of the bone. He once again tried yanking his shoulder from Angelica's grasp, but he was so weak that she didn't have to struggle to hold him down. He let out a growl of frustration and pain. The last of the ripping flesh sound faded and soon the a good portion of the pain was gone. He knew why. His lower leg was gone.

With a trembling gasp of pain, Jack opened his eyes. He lay there for a few moments, catching his breath, as the others watched him.

"Ye alright, Jackie?" Teague asked after a couple of minutes.

"N-not really…" He responded, stuttering hoarsely, after giving a soft, bitter chuckle at the man's words. He cleared his throat before he continued. "Thanks for bloody askin' though."

Angelica's look of horrified worry slowly faded. She released her hands from his shoulders, moving back to give him space.

Grogan quickly wrapped the newly cut leg in several layers of bandages before turning. The doc fumbled with something stored in one of the crates in the corner of the tent. He pulled out a few leather straps and a pre-cut wooden peg-leg. He laid it against Jack's, cutting off the unneeded excess wood off the top and tossing it to the side. Then he pressed it up against the the new wound, making the injured man grimace. The leather straps were nailed into the peg-leg before Grogan made sure that the fake leg was against the stub of the flesh of the cut one. He strapped the two together, ignoring Sparrow's complaints and groans.

"Ouch! That hurts, mate." He growled at him.

"Hold on, Sparrow." Grogan responded gruffly. He tightened the straps as far as they'd go, securing them. "There. All done."

"Thanks." The other man muttered, something he rarely ever said. He managed to sit up, bending his only knee to rest his chin on it. His eyes moved to look down at the black peg-leg and straps, which weren't comfortable at all. He saw the blood staining his pants and the bandages, sighing. "How long will it take to heal?"

"Weeks, a couple months at most." Grogan told him. "An' walkin' 'round like that won't help it either."

"Hurry up with him, Grog, we've got to get back out there." Teague barked.

"Aye, Cap'n Teague." The doc responded with a nod as he began to clean and bandage the injured man's other wounds.

"What?" Jack asked. "How many men are left?"

"Less than half o' 'em, Jackie." The man told him. "Only two ships left. The Pearl and the Troubadour are holdin' up well, but they won't last much longer."

"Glad the Pearl's still doin' fine." He responded, not surprising anyone.

Angelica rolled her eyes. "For now." She repeated what Teague had said.

"We've held up well." Teague sighed, before continuing. "But it will never be enough. We have to leave, to get out of 'ere before the British kill us all."

"And where will we go?" Jack asked, after snorting in bemusement. "They know where Shipwreck Cove is, Tortuga's been reduced to ash...there's nowhere left!"

"We have to go into hidin'." The older, more experienced man admitted reluctantly.

"What? Like undercover? Into proper civilization?" The younger man asked, not liking the mere idea of it. "We're pirates for a reason. It's freedom. But goin' into hidin' isn't freedom."

"Things are changin', Jackie." Teague told him reluctantly. "We need to change too, b'fore those changes wipe us all out."

Grogan sighed. "He's right, Sparrow. It's either change or be killed in these days."

"And what if I choose neither?" He tried, with a slight smirk.

"Then it's back to the Locker with ye, boy." The Keeper responded. "I already said, it's change or be killed. Don't think the second option suits ye, Jackie, ye know what it's like to not be among the livin'."

That wiped the smirk off Jack's face. It was momentarily replaced with a look of fear before he got himself under control. He glared at the man, his teeth clenched, and answered in a low voice. "I am _never_ goin' back there. Mock me words, but it ain't happenin'."

"What do you mean? Have you already been there?" Angelica nearly glared at the injured man.

"Aye. Once." He admitted with a heavy sigh. "The worst thing anyone could experience."

"But the only way to get there...is to die." She realized. Her eyes narrowed. "How are you here, Jack?"

"An old friend." The injured pirate responded, memories of Barbossa racing through his head. "Ye may know him as someone who…" What was the right word for this? "...ruined your life."

"The one-legged man?" She guessed.

"Aye. Barbossa." Jack nodded with a small smile. "He got a crew an' they sailed far for me. But it's thanks to me that they're even back here." He sighed, thoughtfully. "Good man, Hector was."

"Was? What happened to that fool now?" Teague growled.

"He drowned savin' me, the youngest Turner, an' his own daughter." He explained simply. "Never knew he had a heart big as that; thought he was a selfish git, always takin' the Pearl from me…We would've done well to have him 'ere to help out."

"I would kill him before he even got close." Angelica told him, her chocolate brown eyes darkening menacingly.

"Blackbeard would've died anyway had he not drank from either of the chalices." Jack told her, meeting her gaze. He smirked before continuing. "Barbossa didn't kill your father, 'Gelica. I did. I tricked him into drinkin' the wrong chalice to save ye. Ye know that." He gave a soft chuckle before adding,"I'm surprised you haven't tried to kill me yet."

"I could never kill you, Jack," She murmured quietly. "Even I am not that cruel, mi gorrión."

"They've broken through!" Someone screamed from outside the tent.

Teague drew his sword. "That's not good…" He turned to the Doc. "Clean up in 'ere, salvage what ye can from the camp. Evacuate an' head toward the beach. We need to get off of this island."

"Aye, Cap'n Teague." Grogan nodded. "Good luck out there, sir."

"Same to all of ye." The Keeper responded before exiting the tent and vanishing into the crowds of fighting men. He looked to the injured pirate. "See ye on the other side, Jackie."

"Bet." He smirked in reply.

"We need to move." The Doc told Jack and Angelica.

"Aye, that be true." The injured pirate agreed, slowly turning. He slipped off of the wooden table, gasping as the wood of the peg-leg smashed into his torn flesh. "That has a punch to it…" He lowered himself to kneel on his remaining knee, his peg-leg sticking out awkwardly. Angelica moved to assist him, but he shook his head. "Help Grog pack up his supplies and get out of 'ere. I'll be right behind ye."

"How do I know I can trust you saying that, Jack?" She asked.

"Jus'...just trust me, savvy?" He sighed in exasperation. "We don't have time for this."

"Promise you'll be behind us?" She looked at him.

"I promise on return to Jones' Locker." Jack met her gaze, knowing now that she'd listen.

Angelica gave a small smile, knowing she could trust him. She'd seen the look of fear in his eyes when Teague had mentioned the Locker. If she knew him at all, when that man was afraid of something he'd do anything to avoid it. She nodded, turning to help Grogan finish packing the medical supplies. They finished quickly and the man hefted the large medical bag onto his shoulders. The two of them left, Angelica making sure the bag didn't fall over.

*X*

Now alone, Jack sighed. All he felt in his damaged body was pain, loads of it. Especially in the stub of his right leg and the thigh. Walking wouldn't be fun. But he couldn't sit there, either. The camp was under attack and he'd made a promise to Angelica. He'd follow them. He wasn't about to break his deal and go back to Jones' Locker for it.

He grabbed the wooden table beside him and pulled himself into a standing position, not moving for a moment as he absorbed the extra burst of pain. Then he walked over to where his effects were. He pulled on his shirt, not bothering to button it- there was no time. Then he pulled the vest on over it before grabbing his baldric and sword. He fastened them aligned with his belt. Snatching his hat and pistol, he adjusted the tricorn comfortably. He drew his sword as well, expecting a fight on the way out.

He jumped back from the entrance as an exhausted, overwhelmed man entered and slumped to the ground to catch his breath. It was Teague.

"Ye alright, Dad?" Jack asked, recovering from the sudden surprise.

"Aye, I'm fine, Jackie." The older man sucked in a deep breath as he looked up at him. "Ready to leave, eh?"

"Aye. Was jus' about to." He admitted. Then he had to ask the one question tugging at him. "We're losing out there, aren't we?"

The Keeper nodded. "Badly. There are more of 'em than before. Believe they broke through by reinforcements from one o' the ships."

"Makes sense." Jack answered, tucking away his pistol and reaching a hand down to held the other man up.

Teague took the hand, being pulled to his feet. He grabbed his sword again and looked at the younger man. "Your mother would've been proud of ye, boy."

The injured captain's eyes met the other man's. "Wish she were 'ere."

"So do I, Jackie. So do I." He put a hand on the younger man's shoulder.

"Ye lied to me when ye told me she died of sickness." Jack knew. "All those years ago when ye told me, I've known it was a lie."

"I had to. It was for the best." The Keeper assured him.

"How did she really die?" He questioned, his gaze forceful.

"It's best ye don't know." Teague sounded uncertain.

"Tell me, Dad." Jack demanded, his voice softening to a pleading tone. "Please. I need to know the truth."

"She was killed." The man admitted.

"By who?" He asked, a dangerous glint in his eyes. "I'll kill the one who killed her, I swear."

He didn't expect the answer he got.

" _I_ killed her." The Keeper told him, a look of pity in his dark eyes.

"What?" The younger man couldn't believe it. He refused to. "No...ye're lyin' again."

"I'm not, I promise ye, Jackie. It's the truth." He replied quietly.

"Look me in the eyes and tell me ye killed her." Jack ordered, coldly. "Go on."

"I killed your mother, my wife." Teague confirmed, his eyes bearing into the other man's.

"No...ye didn't." The pirate captain's lips formed a gut-wrenching frown. "No, jus'...no way."

"Jackie." The older man gave him a shake.

"...Why?" Jack asked, his eyes accusing as he pulled from the other man's grasp. "Why'd ye do it?" When the other man didn't answer, his voice grew more demanding and had a harshness added to it. "Tell me! Why did ye kill her? What'd she ever do to ye?"

"I knew ye wouldn't be able to handle it." The Keeper sighed, retrieving his sword, which he'd dropped.

"Why did ye do it?" He repeated.

"There's some things that shouldn't ever be said, and that is one of 'em." He told him, turning to leave.

Jack's anger boiled and he stabbed his sword into the dirt beside him with such ferocity that the leaving man turned back around. He looked at the younger man sympathetically, understanding his anger and impatience.

"I'm sorry, Jackie. It's for the best." Teague murmured, withdrawing from the tent.

The injured pirate sank to the ground, head in his hands. "I can't believe it…"


	14. Chapter 13: The Last Stand

Jack cut down every man who got in his way as he headed towards the beach. Even other pirates. He had no sympathy for anyone, no patience to go around them. His only goal was to get off the island with Angelica safely. And Teague? He could care less about that man, the one who'd killed his mother and lied to him about it for years.

His sword was dripping with the blood of both soldiers and other pirates alike by the time he finally reached the beach. His dark eyes scanned the area for Angelica and Grogan. He spotted the man and his bag of supplies lying further down the beach. He was bloody and not moving. Dead, Jack knew. Soldiers controlled most of the beach. Angelica was nowhere to be seen.

"Where is she?" He muttered to himself aloud.

 _She better not be dead. C'mon, 'Gelica, show yourself. I know ye're 'ere somewhere._

He jumped as he felt a hand on his back and heard a familiar voice.

"Where were you, Sparrow?" Angelica hissed at him.

He turned to face her, not telling her exactly what happened. "Teague had to talk to me about somethin'. Says we've lost a lot of men."

"Yes, Jack, there's only few men left. Only the Black Pearl is still up. The other ship sank." She accepted his answer, not pushing it. Then she saw the grim look on his face and the anger in his eyes. "What's wrong?"

"Nothin'." Jack lied again, shaking his head to snap out of it. He forced a small smile when he saw the concern in her eyes. "I'm fine, love. Don't worry 'bout it."

"Grogan's dead." She changed the subject.

"Aye, I know." He responded. "The beach is crawlin' with British men."

Suddenly, a chill went up his spine and they both froze. Screams came in unison from the ships. He smirked widely as he spotted the mermaids finally helping, taking down British ships. Several ships begun to quickly sink at once. Several more followed soon after. Screeches from the mythical creatures sounded in the air as well as gun and cannon shots. The men were trying to fight back. He snorted, knowing it was hopeless for them.

"They're listening…" Angelica murmured, awestruck.

"Aye, they are." He nodded, his smile fading as he remembered the task at hand. He gently shook her arm. "They're distracted, we can try to get to the Pearl now. Then I can steer her away from 'ere- they won't see us through the smoke."

"You really think we can make it?" She asked, looking at him as she snapped out of her daze.

"We've made it this far." Jack reminded her. "We can make it."

"What about your father?" She questioned.

"Couldn't care less." He admitted in a toneless voice as he looked for a way to get to the water's edge without getting noticed.

"What happened?" She narrowed her eyes at him.

Most of the soldiers had headed back to the longboats and were rowing back to their ships to assist the rest of their men. This was the time to make a move.

"I already told ye, it's all fine." He replied impatiently. "Come on! Let's go now, before they realize what's happenin'!"

Jack grabbed Angelica's arm and practically dragged her onto the open beach from the safety of the borderline trees. She nearly yelled at him as she tried to pull free until she remembered that they were right behind a group of soldiers who currently had their backs towards them. She pitched her elbow into his ribcage and he doubled-over, releasing her with a groan. She grabbed him to steady him, glaring at him.  
"You deserved that." She commented.

"Did I?" He growled at her mostly in anger over recent events than pain as he finally regained his balance,"I was makin' sure ye'd come."

"Oh, I'm coming, Jack." Her eyes met his challengingly.

"Good." He responded coldly, turning from her and racing across the beach to the water.

"Hey! You! Stop right there, pirates!" A voice shouted at them.

Jack froze in his tracks, glancing back at Angelica with a sigh. "Told ye we needed to go…"

"Now what is your plan?" She asked in an annoyed tone.

"Go, steal a longboat and get to the Pearl." He ordered. He drew his red stained blade, glancing from her to the soldiers and back again. "I'll hold 'em off."

"But, Jack-" She tried.

"Go!" He shouted at her, shoving her towards the water more roughly than intended.

The soldiers ran toward them and he drew his pistol now, firing and taking one out. He knew he didn't have time to reload the gun and tossed it aside. He clashed with the first of the soldiers, dispatching him easily with a stab through the chest. He heard a gunshot and felt something pierce the skin of his back before he could turn to face the soldiers again. He let out a howl of pain as he whipped around to face them.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Angelica ducking behind the dinghy and watching instead of making a row for it. Her face was distorted in a look of worry.

Jack grabbed the sword of the fallen soldier and threw it through the stomach of an incoming man, who tumbled and then lay motionless. With his own sword, he locked blades with another. They dueled for a few moments before he tripped the soldier and stabbed him through the back. He saw a dagger flying through the air towards him, but couldn't react quickly enough. It plunged itself into his peg-leg, doing no harm to him, thankfully. He ripped it from the now damaged black wood and threw it back, watching with satisfaction as it hit home in the man's neck. Only one man remained, hanging back nervously and aiming his musket at him.

"Don't fire that, mate!" He called over to him.

Too late.

A shot rang out and pain exploded in his left shoulder. He yelped in pain and surprise. The impact knocked him onto his back in the sand. He scrambled to get up, but failing miserably as he tripped on the wooden leg and landed face-first in the sand. The soldier rushed in as the pirate captain had almost gotten to his hands and knees. It was too late to do react and stop what was about to happen.

The butt of the soldier's musket connect with his other shoulder, whacking him completely onto his back. Then it slammed into the side of his head and his vision became unsteady. But he still held his sword tightly in his right hand. With one last battle cry of determination, he stabbed the bloody metal blade straight through the man's heart. He saw the body fall limp and lifeless beside him.

"It's Sparrow!"

"Get him!"

The voices of more incoming soldiers rang out and the sound of rapidly approaching footsteps filled the air. Jack desperately attempted to get up, but he collapsed, two musket shots having drained him of his remaining strength. He watched helplessly as the men got nearer, swords at the ready.

"Jack!" Angelica screamed his name, their gazes meeting. "Get up! ¡Levántate!"

"I can't…" He mumbled, though she was much too far away to be able to hear.

He pulled himself closer to the soldier's corpse, rolling it over onto its back. He gripped the handle of his sword and pulled it from the body before rolling onto his back again, just in time to lift his newly recovered blade to meet an attacking one. He was too exhausted and pained to do anything but defend clumsily. His heart pounded anxiously as he desperately parried swords. A feeling of doom had settled upon him.

This wasn't going to end the way he wanted it to. He was certain of it.

Suddenly, he remembered something. He remembered watching the wound on Angelica's hand seal up within seconds. She was immortal! How could he have forgotten? She could save him.

"Angelica!" He shouted as loudly as he could, hoping she heard and got the idea.

A kick in the ribs made him cry out in agony. He nearly lost his grip on the sword in his hands.

*X*

Angelica's heart wrenched at the sound of him calling for her desperately. But she didn't understand what he wanted from her. What could she do to help him? He was practically covered in soldiers who were trying to break through his weak defenses. She heard him cry out and she felt as helpless as ever.

 _You coward!_ She yelled at herself mentally. _You should help him! They'll find you too!_

But she couldn't bring herself to move and remained hidden behind the longboat.

*X*

 _Bloody woman!_ He thought, realizing she wasn't coming.

Jack had run out of ideas and was running out of energy too. He let out another loud whimper as a sharp blade connected with his right forearm and a bright red liquid trailed down it. His foot slammed into someone's ankle and he heard a groan from one of the soldiers.

Someone else shouted his name, a much deeper, familiar voice he couldn't quite place. The soldiers left him and headed after the new target. Beaten, bruised, and bloody, all he could do was put the blade down beside him. He heard footsteps coming towards him and sighed, presuming it was a soldier who was about to end him. Instead, he felt soft hands on the sides of his head and found himself looking at Angelica.

"Jack…" Her eyes were wide and moist. A single tear trailed down her face.

"It-it's fine, love." He answered weakly. "It's alright."

He reached up and wiped the tear from her cheek, caressing it.

"You're dying." She murmured. "You're not fine."

He attempted a weak smile, but he knew it probably made him look more pathetic as he lay there. "Why aren't ye helpin'?" He asked, light-heartedly. "Ye're immortal, remember?"

A guilty, self-angry look covered her face. "I-"

"Ye forgot." He managed a soft, bitter chuckle.

"I'm so sorry…" She pressed her head to his. "I love you, Jack."

"I know." Jack assured her. "As do I, 'Gelica. As do I."

The sound of the fighting men got closer until they were practically right next to them. A gunshot made him jump, considering it was right next to them. A loud groan sounded and a familiar looking man was lying on the ground next to him. It was no one but the Keeper of the Code himself.

"I'm sorry, Jackie." Teague told him, his voice just above a whisper.

Their eyes met for a few seconds. He saw pity in his father's gaze.

Jack's own anger flared for a moment and he said something he'd probably come to regret. "I'm not."

"I know." The older man responded, the light leaving his eyes. "I love ye, boy."

He turned as he heard Angelica scream his name. A few soldiers were holding her back and had taken away her sword. A foot connected with the side of his head and he gasped, his vision blurring wildly. He glanced back at Teague, who now lay lifelessly beside him.

Someone hoisted him up from under the arms. Another ripple of pain flew through his recently shot shoulder and he struggled hopelessly to get free. Another soldier took one of his arms from the first and the two of them began dragging him across the beach, to one of the longboats in the water.

Jack lost consciousness wishing it was all a dream.


	15. Chapter 14: An Understanding

When Jack regained consciousness, he felt a hard wooden floor beneath his bare back. The air was cool and the wood was damp. He opened his eyes slowly, letting them adjust to the low light of the area. Looking around, he guessed that he was in the brig of a ship. Besides the sound of water outside, it was completely silent.

"Hey, Jack." A familiar, quiet voice came.

He glanced across the cage to see Elizabeth sitting there, watching him. She had her knees pulled up to her chest and didn't look very happy, besides relieved to see him awake. She had a few scrapes and bruises visible to him and he guessed that they were from the battle.

"'Ello," He responded tonelessly.

"Are you alright, Jack?" Will's voice came from the cell beside theirs'.

He looked at the man, who had a few bleeding gashes on his limbs. His long brown hair was a tangled, unneat mess. He seemed distracted though, as he gazed off into the distance. Angelica was in the same cage he was, sleeping in the opposite corner.

Jack let out a few groans, propping himself up on his elbows. All his wounds ached and his mind wasn't at peace either. Memories of the day disheartened him. He'd learned that his father had killed his mother. His father had died before his eyes and he never said anything kind in farewell. He was covered in wounds and in the brig of a ship, likely on his way to a prison and to be hanged. It was all too much.

"Oh, I'm bloody fine, Will." He growled in reply after a few moments. "Jus' bloody fine…"

The younger man shot him a curious look. "Is something wrong here?"

"We're on our way to be hanged, unless ye haven't noticed." The pirate captain snapped.

"Jack, are you okay?" Elizabeth asked again, looking at him with concern.

Jack shook his head, ignoring her question. "Who's still alive anyway?"

"Gibbs is alive." Will told him. "The four of us, Henry, Carina, the monkey, and about maybe five others. Why?"

"The Keeper, he's dead as well, in't he?" He needed to know for sure.

He nodded. "Aye."

"Jack, you know a lot about the Brethren Court," She spoke up,"Did the Keeper have a heir?"

"Ye're talkin' to him." The injured pirate responded, his voice cold.

"So, Teague was your father." The Dutchman's former captain looked at him, a look of surprise on his face.

"Aye. Obviously." Jack grumbled. "An' now the rest of me livin' family is dead."

"I'm sorry, Jack…" The Pirate King told him with a sorrowful gaze from across their cell.

"Don't be." He responded, sitting up forcefully and turning away from her. He grabbed his red stained shirt and pulled it on, followed by his vest. He sighed,"It was bound to happen anyway sooner or later."

"What do you think we should do?" Will asked after a few minutes of silence.

"Ask her, she's the Pirate King." The injured pirate captain reminded him, pointing over his shoulder at Elizabeth.

"I don't know…" She answered quietly. "There's not enough of us left to try to fight back again. All we can do is hide among the regular people."

"Ye sound like Teague, sayin' that." Jack muttered reproachfully. "That's what he said…"

"Then you tell me, Jack, what else can we do?" She demanded in an equally unhappy tone.

He lifted the palms of his hands to his forehead, grumbling to himself. When he finally answered, he'd exploded with impatience, virtually yelling. "I don't have a bloody clue!" He turned to glare at her, his dark eyes full of irritation beyond what she'd ever seen from him. His voice lowered to just above a harsh whisper. "I'd rather find me ship an' almost certainly get killed by soldiers than go into civilization."

*X*

Elizabeth looked down at the old wooden boards of the ship with remorse. The brig fell silent, the conversation having come to a complete halt at the dark, meaningful words; at the most loyal thing the pirate had ever said; at a cause that the pirate thought was worth dying for.

She glanced back up to see that Jack had turned away from her, his head resting on his arm, which in turn rested on his only knee. She was shocked at his reaction to her question. He normally smirked off his anger, but this time he'd just let it out. She could only assume that Teague's death had made a rough impact on him. He hadn't been that way when they'd first met up on the beach when they'd arrived. It clearly hadn't been the years that'd changed him.

" _Psst_. Elizabeth, over here." Will's voice snapped her out of her thoughts and she looked up.

She scrambled over to the bars that separated the two cages, where he sat directly on the other side. "Yes, Will?"

"Are you alright?" He asked, having seen the whole thing.

"I'm fine," She assured him with a small smile. "I deserved it, I shouldn't have asked something like that from Jack."

"No, you did not deserve that." He corrected her. "He has no right to yell at you like that."

"A lot's happened to him recently, Will." She reminded him. "I know what it's like to have your father killed. I can't blame him. Just give him time."

She began to get to her feet.

"Where are you going?" Will asked.

"To talk to Jack." She responded. "I need to make sure he's alright."

"Good luck with getting him to talk." The man scoffed, shaking his head.

She walked across the cell, sitting down besides the pirate captain.

*X*

"What do ye want?" Jack asked quietly, though his voice had a hint of impatience to it.

"Are you alright, Jack?" Elizabeth questioned in reply.

"Not much better off than I was in Davy Jones' Locker." He admitted, sighing heavily.

"What else happened to make you this way, Jack? Just the death of one person couldn't do this to you." She pried at his mind for information.

"That, I'll be keepin' to meself, thanks." He grumbled, not willing to let her have it.

"Jack, please." She rested a hand on his bruised right shoulder and he winced. "Something else dramatic happened besides your father's death. What was it?"

He turned to look at her. The gleam in her eyes showed that she was really worried about him. For a moment, he considered telling her the truth; about how his father had killed his mother. But he couldn't. It was too personal to tell someone he'd known for even so many years. He shook his head and turned away. "That's not your business, 'Lizabeth."

"What's that?" Elizabeth asked, pointing to something that hung from his belt.

"What's what?" Jack responded, having lost interest in the conversation. He looked down at his belt, only to regret having done so. It was his mother's shrunken head. "Ah, that…"

"Is that...someone's head?" A look of disgust passed across her face.

If he hadn't been in such a bad mood, he would've laughed at the look on her face. "Aye. Me mother's."

"How did you get it?" She seemed curious enough.

"Me dad gave it to me when the Brethren Court met up last time." He told her. "Not sure how he shrank it though…"

"How did he even get it?" The Pirate King wondered.

The temptation and the anger of Teague telling him was too much. He turned his head back towards her, his gaze sad. "He jus' told me today actually...he told me that he killed her himself. It was our last actual conversation, besides his death. I was furious with him and jus' 'bout yelled at him. I hated him at the time for it. All the years of sufferin' alone without knowin' the truth. And he'd lied to me, me whole life since he told me. I was so angry with him I never got to give him a proper goodbye…and now he's gone too."

"Your father killed your mother?" Elizabeth repeated, clearly not expecting him to say that.

Jack stood up unsteadily, walking over to the front of the cage, where the door was. He gripped the bars so tightly his knuckles were white. His voice was a harsh whisper. "Damn it all."

Footsteps came from the stairs leading down to the brig and he glanced in that direction hopefully. A soldier emerged, holding a set of large keys on a ring.

"Don't try anything, pirate." He ordered as he entered a key in the lock and twisted it, pushing open the door. The injured pirate didn't move, nor did Elizabeth. "Well, come on."

The pirate captain grabbed the metal bars of the door and slammed it against the other man's head. The man crumbled to the ground, knocked out cold. He opened the door all the way and retrieved the keys from the soldier, also stealing his baldric and sword, equipping them as his own. The Pirate King gave him a small, sympathetic smile as she exited the cell. The injured pirate shoved the key into the keyhole of the other cell and unlocked it. Will got to his feet and took his wife in his arms as soon as he got out.

Jack entered the cell and picked up the sleeping form of Angelica. He adjusted her comfortably in his arms, passing Will the stolen sword. He exited the cell, being sure to take the keys with him just in case- they could come in handy.

"We're gettin' out of 'ere."


	16. Chapter 15: A Need to Learn of People

Jack leaned Angelica's head against his shoulder as he crouched at the top of the stairs. Will and Elizabeth were behind him. He glanced up onto the deck, jumping back immediately as a soldier walked past. He gently laid the Spanish woman on the stairs.

"I'm goin' to distract 'em." He told the others. "Grab a longboat an' get it in the water."

"You can't." Elizabeth grabbed his arm when he turned to climb onto the deck. "You need to get to Shipwreck Cove. You're the heir to the Keeper."

"And neither can ye do it, ye're the Pirate King." Jack reminded her.

"I'll go." Will spoke up. "I'll distract them and you get the boat. I'll catch up."

His wife tried to protest. "But, Wi-"

"There's no other choice. You are both too important to the Brethren to die. And there's no one in line to be Keeper after Jack." He told her, truthfully.

"Get on with it then." The pirate captain growled at him impatiently. "I don't wanna stay on this bloody ship any longer than necessary."

Will turned and climbed onto the deck to do his job. Jack lifted Angelica in his arms once again, hoping their escape would go to plan. Shouts erupted on deck shortly and he knew that the distraction had begun.

The pirate captain stepped out on the ship's deck, Angelica in his arms and Elizabeth behind him. He grabbed a knife that laid on the wood and they took off towards the boats. They reached them, finding one decently sized that would hold all four of them and still have spare room. He used the knife to cut it loose and then tucked it in between the waistband of his pants and his belt. The Pirate King climbed down into it first and the injured pirate handed her the unconscious daughter of Blackbeard. He climbed down after them, taking Angelica again. Will splashed into the water beside boat and climbed in, soaking. He grabbed the oars and began rowing them away from the British ship.

"Don't know what ye did, but great job." Jack approved.

"Thanks, Jack." Will answered as they got further and further from the ship.

The soldiers of the Royal Navy didn't seem to have noticed them leave, to the relief of the escapees. The plan had worked perfectly. The first plan that ever had. The injured pirate captain set down Angelica in between two of the benches. He, himself, sat on the bench in the back of the rowboat, facing away from them. The excitement of being free again had left him and now all the painful memories overtook him, leaving him to mourn quietly.

Soon the sun was low in the sky, which was purple and orange. Jack found himself turning to stare into it, longingly wishing to be on the Pearl's deck, at the helm. That thought fueled his anger even more. Gradually the rowing began to slow down, making him guess that Will was tiring. Elizabeth had fallen asleep in between two of the benches.

"Ye want me to take over with the rowin' for awhile?" The pirate captain offered.

"It'd be nice." The Dutchman's former captain panted in reply, handing him over the oars. "Thanks…"

"Get some rest." He nodded to him as he began rowing, trying to ignore that pain in his shoulder that had been shot.

Jack rowed for a few more hours, off and on because of the pain. The moon was well up in the night sky, the light it gave off reflecting off the calm water. Once he'd nearly fallen asleep and almost went overboard before he realized it. Deciding he should switch out with Will again, he poked the other man with an oar. The man stirred, but didn't wake up completely. He gave him another hard jab to the arm and he jumped, turning to face him with a startled expression.

"Your turn, mate." He told him, keeping his voice quiet as to not wake the others.

The Dutchman's former captain nodded, taking the oars. "Alright."

The injured pirate turned back to watch the water. He wasn't tired, just exhausted. Memories also kept his mind racing and alert. After awhile, his thoughts had slowed down and his eyelids had begun to droop.

" _Jack!"_

He jolted upright, his eyes wide. Turning to see that Angelica rested peacefully, unharmed, he exhaled in relief. He breathed in and out a few times, calming himself. He glanced up at the moon, giving a small smile as he remembered what type of moon it was.

" _The old moon in the arms of a new one. First of the summer."_

He didn't normally remember small things like that, so he mentally prided himself for remembering. He rested a hand on his knee, the other subconsciously messing with the trinkets in his dreadlocks. He gazed at the moon without looking away, he admired it, similar to how she had that night in the lighthouse.

"The first of the summer." Her voice murmured aloud, repeating what she had said last time.

"Aye." Jack turned, giving her a small smirk. "Ye're finally awake, eh?"

"I should be saying the same to you." Angelica answered in her Spanish accent. "You were unconscious for three days."

"Was I?" He asked, surprised.

"Yes, you were, Jack." She confirmed, standing up and stretching before sitting down on the bench next to him. "I was worried about you. How are you feeling?"

"Don't need to worry 'bout me." He gave a small smile, pulling her up against him with his right arm. "Feelin' alright, compared to earlier."

She rested her head against his bruised shoulder and he winced slightly. "What happened earlier?"

"Jus' wasn't in the best of moods." He admitted.

"I do not see how you could be in a good one after what happened during the battle." Angelica told him, caressing his cheek with her hand. "Your father died, you nearly died."

"Don't mention it." Jack mumbled.

"Lo siento, Jack. Sorry." She murmured.

"It's fine." He assured her, ending the conversation.

"Jack?" She asked, breaking the silence that had lapsed over the last few minutes.

"Mhm?" He was looking at the water, which was reflecting the night sky so well.

"Te amo."

"What does that mean?"

"I love you." She snuggled up against him.

He kissed the top of her head gently. "As do I, love."

Then she had moved back a little, her hand reaching through his dreadlocks to grab the back of his head. Her other hand went to his chest. She tilted her head up, pulling his down and their lips met in a passionate kiss. His arms went to her waist and one to her shoulders, pulling them as physically close as possible. She push him down onto the bench so that he laid flat on his back. She climbed on top of him, her hands working his shirt over his injured shoulders and sliding it off his arms, dropping it- with the vest still on it- onto the floor of the longboat. Realizing what she was trying to do, he managed to get his hands in between their shoulders and pulled her away from him, breaking the kiss.

"Wha- Jack!" Angelica scowled.

"Not 'ere." Jack told her, knowing it'd embarrass the both of them that Will and Elizabeth were possibly watching. "We're not on this boat alone."

Will had turned and gave them an amused smirk, making her blush as she realized what had almost happened in front of others. The man turned back to rowing, the boat moving rhythmically forward through the water. Elizabeth hadn't stirred, still sleeping peacefully where she was in between two of the benches.

"I didn't realize they were here too." She murmured, laying against him with a content sigh.

"What, ye think I'd leave 'em to be hanged?" He raised an eyebrow, wrapping his arms around her back.

"Never know with you, Sparrow." She called him by his last name. "You're always tricking people into doing things for your own good."

"Pirate." He muttered, loudly enough for her to hear.

They lapsed into silence. For a long time the only sound was the churning water as the longboat propelled forward through the water. Jack had gotten Angelica off of him and now they sat side by side on the bench. After a peaceful half hour or longer, the boat lurched.

Jack found himself tossed into the water, snapping him completely awake. He reached the surface and caught his breath, realizing the boat had moved on a little. With a sigh, he began swimming towards it. It was challenging, since last time he swam he had both legs. After a lot of effort, he finally caught up with the boat, which had stopped.

"You alright, Jack?" Will asked, glancing over from where he sat.

"I'm fine, mate." He responded, taking the hand Angelica extended to him.

But instead of letting her pull him up, he purposely pulled on her instead. With a gasp of surprise, she splashed into the water beside him, cursing after she reached the surface. He laughed, grinning mischievously. She splashed him across the face, climbing back into the boat. He climbed up after her, still chuckling. Even Will had a small smile on his face.

"Don't do that again." Angelica growled at Jack, though he knew she wasn't angry.

He wrapped an arm around her as they sat back down on the bench, smirking. "Don't count on it, love."

She snuggled up against him, playfully threatening,"If you do, I'll make sure we leave you."

"Oi! Ye wouldn't." He responded in an equal tone, remembering how Barbossa took the Pearl and marooned him several times. "Ye've no idea how much more of bein' marooned I can take."

"Of course not." She murmured.

"Good then." He sighed, his arm around her back.

He felt her shiver as a small breeze came in from the side. He grabbed his vest and shirt from the bottom of the boat and wrapped them around her, pulling her close once again. After a little while, she'd drifted to sleep in his arms. He rested her in between two of the benches, while he himself settled down in between the last bench and the back of the boat. Gazing across the seemingly endless open water, the bad memories of what had happened before he passed out came back to him.

" _I killed your mother, my wife." Teague had admitted._

After Jack had been pinned, the man had been shot and died beside him.

" _I'm sorry, Jackie." The dying Keeper had said._

" _I'm not." He'd replied, not thinking he'd regret it later._

Oh, by God, did he regret it now. It was a huge part of all the anger he had for himself. He wasn't angry specifically at anyone- besides the already dead Teague- except for himself. He'd been so upset with his father after he'd learned the truth that he never cared to give a proper farewell at the time.

 _He saved you even though you hated him at the time..._ He reminded himself, clenching his fist.

Something poked him in the back and he nearly jumped, tensing. "What?" He demanded, his voice sharp.

"Your turn to row, Jack." Will told him, holding out the oars.

Jack took them, sitting down on one of the benches and beginning to row the longboat. _I still have a lot to learn about people..._


	17. Chapter 16: Shark Attacks and Hope

Hours had passed. The sun was rising, the early morning sky an orange-purple color. Jack hadn't slept at all. He was tired, but his body and mind wouldn't allow him to sleep. He'd been haunted by memories of the worst of the battle. Currently, Will was rowing and there was still not even the slightest trace of a tiny island in sight.

The pirate captain undid the leather straps that held the wooden leg to the stub of his thigh, pulling the fake leg away from it. He placed it beside him on the floor of the longboat. He figured that since they were on a tiny boat in the middle of the ocean that he might as well try to heal while he could; Who knew what lie ahead of them once they reached land.

Jack decided to be the first to break the long silence. "So, tell me, William, what happened to the Black Pearl?"

"The Pearl escaped." Will responded, not stopping the rowing to look at him. "I think the four of us were the only ones caught."

"So all o' the other survivors are on the Pearl then." He nodded to himself. Then he added, with a slight smirk,"How many Navy ships were left?"

"Three." The Dutchman's former captain told him. "The mermaids took care of the rest of them."

"We were close to defeating them then, eh?" Jack wanted to know for sure.

"Close, but not close enough." Will confirmed. "Hardly any of us made it out."

"At least we know that we had a slight chance, mate." He replied thoughtfully. "Maybe if we can regroup an' replenish our numbers we can try again."

"Do you really think that it's a good idea, Jack?" The other man stopped rowing and whipped around to nearly glare at him. "Out of everyone, _you_ should know that it's unlikely."

"Out of everyone, _I_ am goin' to keep tryin' next time the British attack us." The pirate captain responded in a low, serious tone. "Better to try an' fail than not to try at all."

"You keep telling yourself that, Jack. Let's see where it gets you." Will sighed, turning away to resume rowing. "You're going to get yourself killed."

"Will, mate, this battle proved that we actually have the slightest chance at gettin' through this. And I'm goin' to use it to our advantage, the way it should be used." Jack said, with as much determination as ever. Then he sighed, almost sadly. "Like I said, we might as well try. We've not got much left to lose, an' they're goin' to wipe us out eventually. They're not goin' to give up, so why should we? We should go down strong an' not like cowards; runnin' away battle after battle, loss after loss."

"Sometimes running away is the right choice." The Dutchman's former captain murmured thoughtfully, his voice soft.

"Fine. Ye run an' be the last of all pirates left, mate. When ye finally decide ye need help fightin' them, remember I said this." Jack snorted, rolling his eyes as he remembered that Barbossa had once told him something just like that when they'd seen the Kraken's corpse.

"Oh, I will." Will assured him steadily.

"That's jus' delayin' the inevitable, y'know, mate." He reminded him.

They gradually fell silent, thinking over the past and future of what was to happen to piracy. Jack knew that the both of them had great points. Running away was necessary, but then again, one could never outrun the world. He'd finally had to accept that when Barbossa had decided to summon together the Brethren Court. Now it was Will's turn to discover the truth. He'd learn, in time, that a person can't ever outrun even their worst fears.

The rowing began to slow down as Will grew exhausted and eventually he stopped for a break.

"Want me to, mate?" Jack held out his hands for the oars.

The man nodded, handing them to him. "Please." He grumbled, wiping sweat from his brow. Then he asked,"How close are we to the nearest land?"

"Not a bloody clue exactly where we are." He admitted in reply. "We could be days away."

"We won't last long out here without food or water, Jack." The Dutchman's former captain pointed out.

"That's the only thing I'm worried about besides sharks, mate, trust me." The injured pirate captain responded, eyeing a dark shape that moved past the boat.

Will saw it too, tensing. "Well, there's one."

"Aye…" Jack nodded. "Ye still have that sword? Stab the shark when it tries to attack- if it does."

"I have it." The other man assured him.

"Good." He began rowing.

Not long later, the boat jerked and there was a crunching sound. Jack turned to see the shark trying to make a meal out of it. He pulled the oars aboard, using one of them to confuse the creature for as long as he could. Will struggled to pull himself out from in between two of the benches.

"The sword!" Jack held out his hand.

The Dutchman's captain tossed it to him, handle first. He caught it and swiftly swung it, stabbing it into the shark, about where it's gills were located. Blood began to leak down it and he swung again, this time chopping off the top fin. Then he plunged the blade into the top of the creature's head and it finally let go, sinking deep into the ocean, leaving the water stained red.

Jack sighed in relief, wiping the metal blade clean and passing it back to Will, who'd just gotten out from in between the benches. He took it, sheathing it in the baldric. The injured pirate captain pulled back from where the shark had been and examined the damage the shark had done.

"Is it bad?" Will asked.

"No, but it wouldn't have been this bad if ye'd not gotten stuck." He answered after a moment, grabbing the oars again to start rowing.

"Sorry…"

"Don't worry about it, mate."

Angelica and Elizabeth had woken up when the beast attacked and were just now comprehending what had happened.

"A shark?" Angelica guessed.

"Aye, but it's been taken care of." Jack assured her.

"Where is it?" Elizabeth asked, clearly not knowing it was dead.

"Spendin' the rest o' it's days at the bottom of the sea." He smirked.

"It's dead, don't worry." Will clarified, shooting the other man a quizzical look.

The man settled down in between two of the benches again, sighing. Elizabeth relaxed, murmuring a few things to him and he responded back quietly. Angelica watched Jack as he rowed the boat.

*X*

A few nights later, they were all really hungry. Jack's ribs were showing through his skin and it was hard for him to muster up energy, though he forced himself to keep switching off the rowing with Will. But just because he was low on energy didn't mean he could sleep. Oh, he was tired, but the nightmares- the memories- were against him. He'd not gotten even a minute of sleep since he'd woken up aboard that British vessel. Even worse, the others had seemed to notice and kept telling him to get some rest. Will even tried to spend a whole day rowing to spare him the energy, but he'd taken the oars from him and done some of it himself. And all of the sympathetic glances made him more determined to help out. He didn't need to look weak in front of them.

The moon was high in the dark sky when Jack switched off with Will, handing the younger man the oars. He settled down in the back of the longboat, next to Angelica. He laid back as he looked up at the night sky. He'd given up on trying to sleep the day before. Now he was just trying to conserve as much energy as possible. She rested her head on his bruised right shoulder and he pulled her against him.

"When was the last time you even tried sleeping?" She asked him quietly.

"Yesterday or the day before." He responded.

"And the last time you actually slept?"

"Does passin' out after the battle count?"

"No, Jack." She responded.

"Then before the battle, on the way to Whitecap Bay." He told her.

"That was almost a week ago." Angelica pulled away and turned to look him in the eyes.

Jack nodded. "Aye."

"I'm not going anywhere until you get some rest." She told him firmly.

"Where would ye go anyway?" He pointed out, a lazy tone to his voice. "We're in the middle of nowhere, love."

"Exactly." She gave a small smirk, laying down with her head on his shoulder again. "Sleep, mi amor."

"If only it were that easy." He wrapped an arm around her.

All fell silent except for the quiet, soothing sound of the water. Jack found himself actually dozing off. It was a light doze, but better than nothing.

 _A body, his father, lying beside him, dying._

" _I'm sorry, Jackie." The man murmured hoarsely._

" _I'm not." He responded coldly._

His eyes snapped open and he looked around wildly. The waves were rough and rain poured down on them. A wave underneath shook the boat them, tipping it. Thunder roared after a flash of lit the dark night sky.

"Look out!" Will shouted over the noise.

The boat spilled them out and they were dumped into the cold water. The surface was over the injured captain's head and he found himself unable to swim up towards it. _Where's my wooden leg? I need it to swim!_ Jack realized, twisting around in the water desperately.

He spotted it, reaching out and snatching it. The water pulled him further down as he struggled to get the leather straps around the stub of his leg. His lungs burned and he clenched his jaw even tighter.

*X*

"Angelica! Elizabeth!" Will shouted as loud as he could.

He spotted two figures in the distance holding a piece of driftwood. They sharply glanced in his direction. He heard Elizabeth scream his name. He looked around, realizing that Jack was nowhere in sight. _Where is he?_

"Where's Jack?" Angelica called back.

"Stay there!" He called to them, taking a deep breath and diving underwater.

He spotted a figure with an inhuman leg struggling towards the surface. Out of the corner of his eye, there was more movement- headed in the direction of said figure. The new shape moved much quicker and more smoothly through the water, fins and a tail cutting through it easily. It was a shark.

*X*

Jack felt the sharp pain in his good leg before he saw the bloodthirsty creature. His mouth opened in a silent cry of pain. He snapped it shut again as it filled up with water almost immediately. He turned towards the shark, which had bit his leg up to mid-thigh. He twisted, trying to yank free. Another burst of pain and his jaw disobeyed him, opening again to attempt to cry out. Water was sliding down his throat to his lungs now. He felt the remaining air begin to be squeezed away. A dark tint filled the water around him. _No. Not like this. This isn't how I die._

He tried prying the shark's jaws open, to tear the fangs away and pull his leg free. But he didn't have the strength to make the slightest impact. The teeth dug in harder and he almost thought he heard a crunch as they made contact with his femur. He gasped in pain, but he didn't at the same time. His body convulsed. _No!_ He yanked on his leg desperately, only resulting in more pain. He convulsed again and he desperately kicked the shark with his peg-leg, though it did nothing. _This can't be it. I have to get free!_

A hand gripped Jack's shoulder and he managed to turn to see who it was. Will. The man tried to hoist him up towards the surface, but of course it didn't work. The pirate captain grabbed the former captain of the Dutchman and pointed towards the shark. He swam around him to get a better view, eyes widening in surprise. He tried prying the shark's jaws apart, nearly succeeding for a moment, before they clamped shut on the other man's leg again, making him flinch.

Will gestured in a way that meant 'together'. Jack nodded, understanding, as he convulsed again. He got a decent grip on the shark as the other man did too, keeping one hand free. He held up a finger. Then two. He was timing it. A third finger and his hand flew back to the shark. They both pulled down the lower jaw and pushed the upper one as high as they could. Many rows of teeth marks covered the leg, stinging horribly. Still, he managed to yank it from the shark's grasp. He nodded to the other man beside him and pointed up just before convulsing again.

The Dutchman's former captain nodded in understanding and agreement before the two of them released the shark, which snapped at them one last time before swimming off. Jack convulsed again and tried swimming upwards, towards the surface. His body ached and his newly wounded leg couldn't take it. He stopped, glancing down at his leg once again. Will swam up beside him and grabbed him under the arm before motioning towards the surface. After convulsing for the fourth or fifth time, Jack nodded.

With their combined efforts, they reached the surface in no time.

The injured pirate captain coughed as the water finally began to leave his lungs and even the other man gasped in air thankfully. After a minute or so, he was sucking in air as the last traces of water finally left his lungs.

"W-where are the others?" He asked, letting out another cough.

"They're fine." Will responded, wiping his soaking wet long hair from his face.

Jack nodded, not feeling like saying anything else.

*X*

Angelica spotted two figures in the distance, just bobbing out of the water. One of them noticed the boat- which she and Elizabeth had luckily found undamaged by the surf- and waved an arm, shouting.

"Oi! Over here!" It was Jack.

She realized that his voice was hoarse and could barely notice that his skin was paler than usual. Concerned and curious, she redirected the boat towards them with the broken paddle oar. The boat kept trying to drift off to the side, but she used the oar to keep it straight on course. As they got closer, she realized that Will was the only reason that the other man was still above the water line. He was practically holding his head above the water. That couldn't mean anything good. What'd happened now?

*X*

The boat had stopped beside them. Both women seemed worried, looking at them with concern.

"Elizabeth, I'm fine." Will assured his wife with an exasperated sigh, before turning back to the man beside him.

"Ye go up first, mate." Jack offered him.

"No, Jack. If you out of anyone is having problems swimming, then you'll need help getting in the boat." The Dutchman's former captain told him.

The injured pirate captain consented, to the surprise of the other man. He gave a pathetic smirk, before he took Angelica's outstretched hand and used the other to pull himself up the side of the boat. Will supported him from in the water. He did his best to not used his freshly wounded leg as he climbed up the side of the longboat. He reached the top and nearly tripped as he got into the boat.

Angelica pulled him into her arms as soon as she realized that he couldn't do much on his own. It was an embrace of love, joy of seeing him again, and of comfort- as he clearly needed it. His own arms wrapped around her weakly and he rested her chin on his shoulder, breathing in deeply and closing his eyes. For once, he had to appreciate what he had in life. After so much loss, he still had her there. He wasn't alone, not completely.

Will had climbed aboard and grabbed the broken oar, preparing to get them moving again. "You two might want to sit down, it's going to be a rough one through here."


	18. Chapter 17: A Real Purpose To Live For

Angelica assisted Jack to one of the benches after breaking from the embrace. As soon as he sat down, he painfully lifted his left leg up, bending the knee with a groan and propping the foot on his peg-leg. The pant leg was torn in many different places where the shark's teeth had pierced it- and his skin too. The pant leg was stained red and sticking to his skin. It didn't look good.

A hand on his back made him look up and his gaze met with hers. "What was it?"

"A shark." He admitted. "Pretty bad, eh?"

She sat down beside him and grabbed the hem of his pant leg. She carefully began pulling it up, as to not cause the wounded leg any extra pain. She pulled it up past the injuries. She nearly gasped and even he flinched a bit at the sight of his bloodied, chewed up leg. Most of his skin was torn up, revealing what looked like the remaining intact fat and muscle, which was left red in irritation. The injuries went from his mid thigh down to his mid calf. That shark had had quite a few rows of teeth.

"Si." She finally answered, nodding. She fell silent for a moment. "Jack?"

"Aye?" He glanced back up at her.

"If we don't find land soon and get you treated, you are going to die." She realized.

"We will." He put a hand on her shoulder. "I promise, Angelica. We'll find land soon enough."

"What if it's too late?" Angelica asked, dreadfully. "I don't want to lose you, Jack."

"I wouldn't want to lose me either." Jack assured her, jokingly. Then he grew serious. "Trust me, love, I'm not goin' anywhere. Don't worry about me, it'll all be fine in the end."

"How do I know you're not making that up to keep me from worrying?"

"I'm not, I promise."

"Good." She leaned against him, feeling him wince as she unintentionally brushed up against some of his wounds. "If I lose you- you're the only thing I have left to lose, Jack, ever since my father died. I don't want to lose you. I love you."

"It'll be alright." He assured her softly, kissing the top of her head. Then he suddenly realized something. _She's all I got left now too._ "I love ye too, Angelica. No matter what bloody stupid thing I do to ye next, I always will care for ye."

Angelica gave him a smirk. "When did I make you go soft?"

" _Soft_?" Jack repeated, raising an eyebrow at her, though he knew very well what she meant. Then he retorted playfully,"I haven't gone soft!"

She grinned, a mischievous look in her chocolate colored eyes. "Are you sure?"

"Of course!" He smirked back.

"There's something different about you, Jack." She murmured. "Ever since I found you during the battle, you've been more serious. Why?"

His smirk faded.

"Let's jus' say that I finally learned that life's not jus' a game, love." He responded quietly, looking away from her.

"What do you mean?" She cupped the side of his face in her hand and turned his head to face her.

"Pirates. We don't jus' kill our enemies or anyone who opposes us." He was trying to avoid a certain topic, it was in his voice. "We kill for sport, or jus' 'cause we feel like it."

"Jack?" Her eyes narrowed in worry and suspicion. "What are you talking about?"

"I-Nothing." He cut off abruptly, clearly not wanting to say something. He shook his head, pulling away from her hand and gazing out across the water. "It doesn't matter."

"Yes, it does, mi amor." Angelica argued, gently resting a hand on his bruised right shoulder. "What's bothering you?"

Jack unattached his mother's shrunken head from his belt and held it in his palm, studying the long dead face. "Ye know what this is?" He didn't wait for an answer. "Me mum's head. Me dad killed her himself. He told me, durin' the battle. I was angry with him, never gave him a proper goodbye when he died in front o' me very own eyes. I should've forgiven him sooner, should've given him a farewell. Now they're both gone. Never got to say goodbye to either o' em." He paused, the air tinted with silence besides the roaring of the stormy waves. "I know I sound bloody selfish, but-"

"Shh," She hushed him, reaching into his dreadlocks and holding his head still as she tilted her head up- her lips meeting his.

Recovering from his momentarily surprise, he wrapped an arm around her, using his other to reattach the miniature head to his belt. Once that was done, his other hand wrapped around her as well and he held her as physically close as possible. She climbed onto his lap and straddled his waist, her hands cupping the back of his head. He held her as firmly as his injured arms could allow, gently rubbing her back with his rough hands. He ignored the pain that coursed through the stub of his right leg and the whole of the injured area of the other one.

After a minute, Angelica broke the kiss so they could both breath. Jack pressed his forehead against hers as he panted, only slackening his grip on her a little to allow them room.

"You're...all that..I have left as...well." He gasped out in between breaths.

She broke the silence after they caught their breath. "Then _stay_ with me, Jack. Don't leave again, for a third time."

"Don't think either one o' us could survive it if I did leave." He told her, sighing. "I'm not goin' anywhere without ye, 'Gelica. I promise. I swear I will on…"

"On what?" She asked, hearing him hesitate.

"On return to Davy Jones' Locker." He decided. "I'll stay with ye forever, Angelica, I promise."

"I trust you." She murmured, closing her eyes as their lips brushed momentarily. "Confío en ti."

"Let's keep it that way." He fought the urge to say _savvy_.

"Yes." She agreed, nuzzling his cheek.

He, in return, gently kissed hers. "It'll all be fine in the end."

"I hope so, mi amor." Angelica responded, her voice soft. "I love you, Jack."

"The feeling's more than mutual." Jack assured her, giving a small, fond smile.

She shifted on his lap, unwrapping her legs from around him. He grimaced and his recently wounded leg twitched in pain from her movement. She froze as he felt him move, glancing up into his eyes with worry.

"I'm sorry-"

"No need to be, love."

"Are you alright?" She cupped the side of his face in her hand as he tried to look away.

He met her gaze, nodding grimly. "Sticks an' stones, love." He pulled a weak smirk. "I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" She persisted, twisting to glance at his leg.

He grabbed her shoulder and turned her back to face him. His voice was gruffy as he responded sharply. "Don't worry about me, alright?" He saw her flinch and sighed, looking away from her. A feeling he rarely felt settled in his chest, tearing at his heart. Guilt. Heaving a heavy sigh, he quietly cleared his throat. His voice was softer when he spoke. "I'm sorry…but ye don't need to fuss 'bout me that much, love."

"Jack…" She spoke finally, her voice hushed. She couldn't continue, her eyes becoming moist. A tear trickled from her eye, trailing down her cheek.

"Really…" He said it both annoyed and trying to calm her down. "I'm fine, don't ye see?"

"You...are barely s-strong enough to stand up." Angelica choked out. "You need treatment, but...we have nothing with us."

"We'll reach land soon, then all will be well." Jack promised her, gently, pulling her against him.

She leaned against him, accepting the comfort, and sobbed quietly into his neck. He held her as tightly as his arms would allow, yet not too firmly. He rested his chin on her head, gazing off at the dark horizons, losing himself in his thoughts.

 _Years ago she wanted to kill me, now she can't get enough of me. What happened between us?_

"'ey," He murmured softly into her ear, trying to sound as soothing as possible. He wasn't good at this kind of stuff. "Relax, Angelica. Ye're fine, I'm fine; we both are. It'll get better soon, I promise. Jus' calm down an' stop cryin'."

"Jack-" She tried to speak up, but she was cut off as another sob escaped from her.

"What's the matter? Surely, somethin' else is buggin' ye besides our talk." He knew he hit a solid lead as she sniffled and didn't answer. "I know that somethin' else is worryin' ye. Please, tell me. I can help ye, love."

"I-I had a dream, Jack." She began, pausing.

"And what happened in this dream? I need to know the details." He insisted.

"Y-you…you d-" She cut off, unable to continue, weeping again.

Something inside of him knew what she was going to say. _I died in her dream, didn't I?_ He gently rubbed her back, listening as her sobs gradually grew quieter until they died down. He felt her breathing slow and knew she'd fallen asleep.

Jack rested Angelica in between two of the benches, ignoring Will's curious glance- the man had clearly seen everything. He sat down in the very back of the boat, as usual, crossing his arms on the edge of the wood and resting his head on them, closing his eyes.

The memories and nightmares came back, worse than before.


	19. Chapter 18: Glad to See Land

**What I've planned for this story is long and there will be a sequel. I've come up with the name 'Moving On' for it. Of course, the series name "Pirates' Life' will be in the complete title too.**

 **Chapter 18:**

" _Ye've seen what they did to Tortuga." Teague gestured to the rubbly remains of the area. "Do ye really think that we truly stand a chance?"_

" _No, Dad." Jack shook his head. "We stand no chance, but it's still worth tryin'."_

" _Is it?" Gibbs' voice was quiet, mourning the souls who were killed during the attack._

 _*X*_

" _Why did you come here, Jack?" Angelica's eyes were ablaze with anger from their last meeting._

" _We need your help." He told her, seriously. After telling her about the circumstances that brought him to her, he asked the question that he really came to ask. He asked her if she'd join them._

" _I will, Jack." She'd calmed down a lot, thankfully. "I have an idea too."_

" _An idea? What idea?" He asked, feeling slightly excited._

" _Meet me at Whitecap Bay." She demanded. "That is where our final stand will be."_

 _*X*_

 _Lightning blasted the sky yellow, shouts and thunder filled the air. He glanced back to 'his' fleet, seeing a ship sinking._

" _Keep going! We have to leave them behind!" He ordered his crew, who watched with horror. They had to stick to the Code._

' _Any man who falls behind is left behind.'_

 _*X*_

 _The Bloody Dragon, faint in the mist, was on the horizon._

 _*X*_

" _Ahoy, Jack! Need some help?" William Turner grinned from his ship, waving an arm._

 _*X*_

" _Captain! They're 'ere!"_

 _*X*_

" _Sparrow, we have incoming!" A man pointed to a huge fleet of twelve Navy ships._

" _Cannons at the ready!" Jack ordered, his heart pounding nervously._

' _This is it; the beginning of the end.'_

 _*X*_

 _He couldn't feel the ground under his foot. Too much weight on his back and he toppled over the edge, horrified as he realized where he was. The gorge._

 _He spotted some large rocks poking out of the river. He was right over them. Realization came to him moments before he slammed into one of the rocks, blacking out immediately._

 _*X*_

" _Why did you make me immortal, Jack?" She asked, clearly remembering to the Fountain._

" _I told you the sword was poisoned and ye didn't listen." He told her, remembering the raw grief he felt when he saw the poisoned blade cut her. "I couldn't let you die…" He sighed, taking a deep breath. "I couldn't live without ye. Angelica, I love you. Truly."_

'" _What have you done?!" Angelica had screeched, racing to her fallen father's side._

" _Angelica! DON'T! IT'S POISONED!" Jack had shouted at her, at the top of his lungs._

 _But it was too late. She'd already pulled the sword from her father's body and it had already cut her hand in the process. She'd gazed at it as it began to bleed abnormally, in a strange way._

 _The one-legged man spoke up. "I'm not such the fool to take on Blackbeard without a little...venomous 'vantage."_

 _She turned towards the one person who had tried to warn her with pleading eyes. "Jack…"_

 _He turned around to search for the lost chalices desperately. The destruction of the Fountain resumed and it was soon reduced to pieces. The one-legged man took Blackbeard's sword, claiming the man's ship and crew as his own. Then they'd left, as well as the Spaniards._

 _Jack had immediately resumed looking for the chalices, despite all the odds of being able to find them.'_

 _*X*_

 _Pain rippled through his left hip and he looked down to see his dark pants stained impossibly darker. Blood. He'd been shot._

 _*X*_

 _A shattered sword stabbed into his leg as he'd tried to crawl unseen under the fighting men and into the camp. It was pushed deeper and dragged through his whole leg. A kick in the head. Someone dragged him out from behind._

" _Jack, can you hear me?!" Angelica asked, urgently._

 _He blacked out._

 _*X*_

" _We're cuttin' off your leg." Teague told him._

" _Why? It's not that bad, is it?" Jack asked weakly._

" _That knee in't gonna work properly again, Sparrow." Grogan explained._

 _*X*_

 _Intense pain and then it was gone. He knew why. His leg was no longer attached._

 _*X*_

" _I killed your mother, my wife." The Keeper sighed, looking him in the eyes._

" _No…" He refused to believe it._

 _*X*_

 _Two bullets had pierced his skin. Bruises and scratches covered most of his skin. His vision blurred from a few kicks to the head._

 _Teague lay next to him, the light leaving his eyes. "I'm sorry, Jackie."_

" _I'm not." He retorted._

" _I know." The older man said. "I love ye, boy."_

 _*X*_

" _Who's still alive?" Jack asked quietly._

" _Gibbs is alive." Will answered. "The four of us, Henry, Carina, and about maybe five others."_

 _*X*_

" _Did the Keeper have a heir?" Elizabeth asked him._

" _Ye're talkin' to him." He responded, unhappily._

" _So, Teague was your father." Will realized._

" _I'm sorry, Jack…" The Pirate King told him, sympathetic._

 _*X*_

 _The boat spilled them out, into the water. He looked around, panicking. 'Where's the bloody wooden leg?' Spotting it, he grabbed it and strapped it on. Then, there was pain in his other leg and he looked to see a shark biting it. Blood tinted the water._

 _*X*_

 _As soon as he made it aboard the boat, Angelica pulled him into a tight hug. "What was it?"_

" _A shark."_

 _*X*_

 _Her crying in his arms for the first time since their younger years._

*X*

Jack's eyes snapped open, only for him to squeeze them shut as the sun burned them. _Wait...sun?_ He opened his eyes again, slowly, sitting up from the position he'd fallen asleep in. He groaned, his injured left leg aching painfully. He stretched, pulling himself onto the closest bench and sitting upright. _When did I fall asleep, and for how bloody long?_

His stomach growled and a hunger pain tore through him. He gasped lightly before looking down at himself. He was much thinner than he'd last looked, before the battle. His ribs easily showed through his skin. God, he was thin. Thin, injured, and _weak_.

"I see something!" Will's excited voice snapped him out of his thoughts and he stood up on the bench, trying to look over the others' heads.

"Land." Jack smirked as he saw what looked like a beach. It looked bigger than just a tiny island like Isla Cruces, proving that there would be a town or city somewhere there. "Looks promisin'."

"If you're not ready to get off the boat, get ready." The Dutchman's former captain suggested, as he began paddling the boat towards the beach.

The injured pirate captain climbed off of the bench, nearly falling overboard. His stomach slammed into the wood of the edge of the boat. He used his arms to push himself backwards, back up all the way. He cursed under his breath as he half-sat, half-laid back in the bottom of the boat and realized that his first wound had opened up again along with the gunshot wound in his left hip and began bleeding.

"Jack?" Angelica glanced at him with concern.

He wanted to say _I'm fine_ , but he knew that after the previous night that she wouldn't accept it as an answer. He gave a light smirk at her, before looking up at her. "Nearly fell overboard."

She spotted the fresh blood on his skin and sat down next to him. She fingered the bleeding wound that penetrated the skin over his ribcage. A chill went up his spine and he forced himself not to shudder.

"You reopened a wound." She sighed, concerned.

"Aye, one or two." Jack responded.

"What do you mean 'or two'?" She demanded, head snapping up to glare at him momentarily.

He shifted uneasily, only to groan in pain. "Me hip...the gunshot."

"Let me look at it." She reached over in attempt to pull down his breeches to examine his wound.

He slapped her hand away. "Not 'ere, love. It can wait 'till we get somewhere with more space, maybe somewhere more...private." He cast a glance at Will and Elizabeth.

Reluctantly, Angelica agreed. "Fine, but as soon as you and I are alone, I will check to see how bad it is."

She sat there next to him, leaning back to be in the same position he was. She rested her head on his shoulder, one of her hands fidgeting with his dreadlocks and the other holding his wound to help prevent some of the blood loss. His right arm wrapped around her lower back to hold her close, his left arm resting on the edge of the boat.

Minutes later, as he'd lost attention to what was going on around him, the boat reached the shoreline with a rough bump as it slid onto the edge of the sand. He snapped back to reality, realizing they'd finally reached land.

Angelica got up and climbed out of the boat, as well as the other two. Jack was a little slower, as his body was against every little movement. He nearly tripped and fell face first out of the boat, only for Elizabeth to grab him and steady him.

"Careful, Jack." She warned.

He raised his eyebrows, a _duh_ look on his face as he finally managed to get onto the beach. Will pulled the boat higher up the beach to make sure it wouldn't float off to give away their location to hunting Navy vessels or in case they ended up needing it again after all. As he did so, Elizabeth stood out of the way near- but not quite next to- Jack, who was supported by Angelica.

"Should we get going then?" The Dutchman's former captain asked once the dinghy was well on the beach.

"Aye." The injured pirate captain responded.

"What about Jack?" Elizabeth asked her husband. "Clearly he can't get far on his own."

"I will help him." Angelica spoke up, the first time Jack had heard her talk to the couple.

"Alright." Will nodded to her, before turning back to his wife. "See? No problem."

"Well?" Jack raised an eyebrow impatiently. "Are we goin' or not?"

"He's right. We need to get a move on before we all starve to death." The other man agreed.

"Let's go then." Elizabeth muttered.

They walked up the beach, reaching the tree line. Then, they began to trek through the forest.

 _Never been so glad to see land in my life..._


	20. Chapter 19: One Always Needs Help

Jack had woken up around midday after Angelica had cried herself to sleep in his arms the night before. Now it was late in the afternoon as they made their way through the forest. The group was quiet, except for his own curses as he occasionally tripped. He'd decided that he wanted to try walking on his own and, so far, it wasn't working out well. He was at the back of the pack.

As they he reached the top of a hill, he stumbled over his wooden leg and tumbled all the way to the bottom, past the others. "Bloody hill…" He glanced at his other leg, which burned with pain. He tried to get back up, but the leg wouldn't support his weight and the wooden one slid from underneath him. He ended up lying flat on his back, muttering angrily. "This is stupid…"

"You alright, Jack?" Will asked as he and the others reached him.

"Me legs won't work." The injured pirate captain responded, his voice half-joking. He sat up after a moment. "Wish this bloody stupid wooden thing had a knee."

"It's alright…" He started, trailing off, embarrassed, as he looked at Angelica. "Uh, sorry I never asked, but...what's your name?"

"Angelica." She answered.

"...Angelica can help you." The Dutchman's former captain finished.

"I don't need help, I need-" Jack realized that the other man was right, sighing. "Fine, I need help." He reached his hand out to Angelica. "Help me up, love."

She hid a smirk at his realization, taking his hand and pulling him to his feet. She grabbed his shoulders to steady him as he nearly collapsed again. Their eyes locked and they saw deep into each other. He could tell that she was genuinely worried and really cared for him, though if he remembered the previous night- which he did- it was obvious. In his eyes, she saw that he wasn't just hurting from his wounds, but from the recent events. She could tell that he was holding it together by a thin thread. His impatience, pain, grief, and regret were clear to her.

They stood there like that for a few moments, until Will shook Jack's shoulder.

"We need to get moving." The man told them.

The injured man's head snapped to look at him. "Aye, mate." He glanced back at her for a moment. "Let's go."

Jack put his arm around the back of Angelica's neck and she put a hand on his waist. They began to follow Elizabeth and Will as they continued through the forest.

"Do you want to talk about it?" She asked the injured pirate.

He knew immediately that he hadn't just seen her feelings, but she'd seen his. He sighed, shaking his head. "Not really."

She nodded in understanding. "How do you do it, Jack? How do you stand it all?"

He chuckled bitterly. "Barely am, love. The longer it sticks with me, the worse it gets. Dyin' inside, y'know. Dunno what to do anymore either. Everythin' I've tried's only made it worse. The bloody memories jus' won't go away. Bein' stranded at sea didn't help a bloody thing, should've waited 'till we got to Port Royal to try to escape. At least they had food on the ship. We have nothin' and me bein' practically unable to walk doesn't help…"

"We have each other." Angelica spoke up after he'd finally finished ranting.

Jack turned his head to look at her, giving a pathetic attempt at a smirk.

*X*

Through the tiredness and darkness of his eyes, Angelica saw a light deeper inside of him. She made out what seemed to be devotion and tender affection. He loved her. He'd said it, she knew, but she also knew that he was good at lying when he wanted to. But, for a fact, he wasn't lying now. He really cared for her. It was clear.

She managed to give him a small smile of her own.  
*X*

A gunshot sounded nearby and the whole group froze. William glanced back at the others to make sure they were alright. He seemed to take a deep breath.  
"Ye think it's jus' a hunter, mate?" Jack asked, curious, hoping it wasn't soldiers.  
"I hope so." The younger man responded. "Let's wait for a minute and see if we hear any more shots."

They fell silent, listening. Another gunshot sounded, closer than before. There was a screech so human that a chill went up the injured pirate's spine and he slightly shuddered. A quick glance at Angelica revealed a horrified look on her face.

He tapped her lightly to get her attention, softly reminding her,"Calm down, we don't know what it bloody is yet."

She nodded, composing herself and took a deep breath.  
Another gunshot and a similar shriek, followed by what sounded like flapping. Birds. Someone has hunting birds. God, they sounded human though.  
"See? What did I tell ye?" Jack told her, relieved himself that it wasn't a human that was being killed. "Jus' some hunter, eh?"

She slapped his arm lightly and he burst out laughing, having known that she was scared at first.

"It's not funny, Jack." She snapped, rolling her eyes.

"I-it's not that." He finally got himself under control, but still couldn't help smirking. "It was your reaction."

"Still, not funny." She responded.

"Keep tellin' yourself that." He told her, before calling up to the other couple. "Oi, William! S'pose we find said hunter an' have him tell us where the nearest town is."

After a moment, the younger man called back,"What do we have to bargain with if he says no?"  
Jack took a second to think about that one. "We have me compass, I can give it to him if I have to. Best we got."

The Dutchman's former captain nodded. "Alright then, Jack. We'll talk to him."

"Are you sure that this is a good idea?" Elizabeth asked, clearly doubtful.

"Of course." Jack lied, as he and Angelica made their way over to them.

Angelica gave him a knowing glance. "You're not."

"As long as none o' us get killed, love, it'll all be fine." He replied.

Will lead them towards the sound of the gunshots. Though the closer they got, the more cautious he became, constantly looking before bursting out into the open. A sound just like thunder sounded and as they broke into the next clearing, they saw a man holding a rifle and standing over a now-dead doe.

Jack froze, staring at the man who stood there. It was Joshamee Gibbs.

"Mr. Gibbs!" He called from across the clearing.

The man looked up at him in surprise. "By God, Jack!"

"Didn't know ye liked huntin'." The injured captain commented. Then he asked,"What are ye doin' 'ere, mate? Where's the Pearl?"

"The Pearl's fine. She's docked over by the town." The older man assured him. "And I'm 'ere because the only way to survive 's to try to blend in."

"Where's the town?" Will piped up. "We need to get Jack some treatment."

Jack rolled his eyes at the last part, but Angelica gave him a glare.

"'S that way." Gibbs pointed back over his shoulder.

"Where are we anyway?" Elizabeth asked, none of them having wondered yet.

"Jamaica." The First Mate of the Pearl answered. "The nearest town's not far from 'ere and Port Royal 'bout twenty miles east."

"If we caught a ride, could we get to Port Royal by tonight?" Will questioned.

"I reckon not long af'er the sun sets, aye." Gibbs answered, nodding.

"Good." The latter's wife commented. "Then that's what we'll do."

"Sounds like a plan." Jack nodded. "Jus' hope that the bloody soldiers don't see us. I've had 'nough of 'em."

"Yes, you have." Angelica agreed, glancing at his bruised, bloodied torso.

"Then let's get goin'." Gibbs gave a small smile to the others, grabbing the doe and resting it upon his shoulders. He steadied it with one hand, the other holding his musket at his side.

"Do ye want help carryin' anythin', mate?" The injured pirate captain offered, gesturing to the musket. "That deer would be easier to handle with both o' your hands, y'know."

The man raised his eyebrows in a you're-right movement and handed the gun over to him. He took it in his free hand, the other still around the back of Angelica's neck. Gibbs held the doe now with both hands, now seeming more confident with it not falling off.

"Shall we go then?" Will asked impatiently.

"Aye, let's go." Jack answered, nodding in agreement.


	21. Chapter 20: Turner Mansion

As soon as the group of five had reached the town, Gibbs had split off to go sell the doe, taking his musket with him. That left Jack, Angelica, Will, and Elizabeth alone once again. Will had found a hooded coat in a garbage pile behind one of the shops and now Jack was wearing it with the hood up. The less people who saw him, the better.

After about ten minutes of trying and waiting, they finally got a stagecoach to stop. Will paid him a fair amount for a ride to Port Royal and then they climbed inside, the two women assisting Jack. As soon as the stagecoach had started moving and finally left the town, he flipped off the hood. Angelica sat next to him, the other couple on the other side. She leaned into him and he held her close as he gazed out the window.

She murmured something to him and he snapped out of a daze.

"What was that, love?" He asked quietly, gazing at her.

"Nothing." She quickly shook her head. "I was talking to myself, Jack."

He chuckled quietly, glancing out the window again.

Unintentionally, he began to doze off as he got used to the bumps of the trail.

*X*

"Jack. Jack!" Someone was shaking him. "Wake up!"

His eyes snapped open as he woke up and he glanced around with worry for a moment before he realized that nothing was wrong. He noticed that Angelica was the only one inside the stagecoach with him. He sat up, groaning.

"Are we 'ere?" Jack asked.

"Yes, Jack." Angelica responded. "Come on, we're leaving."

She helped him to his feet and he carefully climbed out of the stagecoach, nodding to Will and Elizabeth, as he flipped his hood back on. Angelica climbed out after him and closed the door. The Dutchman's former captain nodded to the driver and thanked him. Then the stagecoach was off again.

"Well, it's definitely after sunset." Will commented. Then he added,"We're not far from the house, it should take no longer than five minutes."

"Good." Jack groaned. "Don't know how much more walkin' I can take."

"Welcome back to Port Royal, Jack." Elizabeth gave him a small smile.

He chuckled good-naturedly. He sure had made some decent memories here. It's where he met Will and Elizabeth in the first place. But it was also where he spent some time locked up and escaped a hanging. This place was not safe for a pirate, not one bit.

The group walked down the main road in silence, turning off on a side road that led to a house larger than several of the shops combined.

"This is yours?" Angelica asked Elizabeth, her first time of directly talking to her.

"Yes, it is actually." She replied, giving a small smile. "Will worked really hard to earn all of the money for it."

"It is beautiful." The Spanish woman complimented.

"Why, yes, it really is." The married woman agreed.

They lapsed into silence for the rest of the walk. When they reached the front double doors of the house, Will unlocked them- apparently he'd had the key with him the whole time- and held the door for them. Elizabeth lead Angelica, who was still assisting the injured Jack, inside.

Jack was stunned. It looked like a place that a royal king or someone of the sort would live in. There was a set of stairs along the back wall of the main entrance hall that led up to a balcony that overlooked the entire room. On either side of the centered stairwell, two hallways vanished further back into the building. He glanced up and spotted what looked like a third hall at the top of the stairs. He'd never seen a building, much less a home this big before. How had Will and Elizabeth done this? Last time he'd seen them, they'd been embracing after ten long years apart on a grassy hill atop a cliff. He never expected things to go this well for them.

The Pirate King grinned at his reaction, pride shining in her eyes. She continued to lead them across the large room and over to the left hallway. They walked down in part way and she opened one of the doors on the left, gesturing them to enter.

"You can stay here while you heal, Jack." She told him. Then she turned to Angelica. "You can have the room one further down if you'd like."

"Thank you." Angelica accepted with a nod of gratitude.

The two women left, Elizabeth probably to find Will and Angelica to go to her room. Now alone for the first time since before the battle, Jack glanced around the room. It was just as impressive as the main entrance of the house. The bed frame had a canopy made of iron bars. Hanging from the bars on the side were red velvet curtains that were drawn open. There was a decent sized desk with quite a few drawers in the center of a large window that overlooked the cliff, and therefore the sea.

He smirked, immediately realizing why Elizabeth had given him this room. She knew him too well. The Caribbean is what he stood for; he was the Pirate Lord in control of it, after all.

He went back to examining the room. There were several dark wooden bookcase lining the walls, which were covered in red and gold patterned wallpaper. The bookcases themselves were covered thickly with several different volumes of books. The ceiling was a very pale yellow, with a very interesting design engraved into it. A single chandelier hung from the center.

He didn't deserve this. He was a pirate, not some royal citizen under the British influence. But, he did love the view from the window. _I'll take it._

Jack unsteadily made his way to the window, hoping that his peg leg wouldn't ruin the deep red carpet. His other leg wobbled with every step, still having a long road ahead of healing after the shark attack. He reached the window, gripping the interestingly carved seal underneath it to steady himself.

He didn't know how long he stood there gazing out at the sea, which reflected the night sky and stars so well. But he was snapped away from his distraction when there was a knock on the door and it opened.

"I suppose you're hungry, Jack?" Will asked, standing in the doorway.

Jack turned to face him, giving a light-hearted smirk. "O' course I am, mate. Can't remember the last time I ate."

"Good." The latter gave a small, yet sympathetic smile of his own. "The maids have got dinner on the table and we've a doctor on the way for you."

"A doctor that won't execute a pirate like me, right?" He added in with a raise of his eyebrows.

"Why would I get one that would kill you?" The Dutchman's former captain asked in reply. "Of course, Jack. I got one that we could trust, an old friend of mine."

The injured man took a few steps his way, though they weren't very stable ones. His left knee buckled and he slipped, but he never hit the ground completely.

"Thanks, mate..." He grumbled awkwardly to Will, who'd caught him. He'd had to say that way too many times for his liking lately.

"No problem, Jack." He gave a small nod, but couldn't hide the concern in his eyes. He helped him to his feet, giving him a knowing look. "Do you want help getting up to the dining hall?"

"It's upstairs?" Jack groaned. _Great, just hope I don't bloody tumbled down those…_ "Aye, I can barely take a few steps."

"Yes, it's upstairs." Will replied, before ordering,"Put your arm around my neck."

He did, feeling the latter's arm on his back. Together, the two exited the room to head to dinner.

 **A/N: No, this is not Will/Jack. I don't ship two people of the same gender.**


	22. Chapter 21: Plans on the Horizon

Jack's foot slipped and he nearly fell over backwards, but an arm jerked him back upright.

"Easy, Jack." Will warned.

"I hate stairs." The injured man grumbled.

"Relax, there's only a few left." The other man reassured him. "Come on."

The two men finally got to the top, without any more difficulties. They headed down the hallway until William turned them right, into a large dining hall. Sure enough, the extra large table had been set. It was covered in all sorts of foods, from cooked beef to potatoes.

Jack settled down besides Angelica, Will beside Elizabeth on the other side of the table.

As they began to eat, the Dutchman's former captain spoke up. "What do you plan on doing once you're healed, Jack? I don't think going back out in the Pearl anytime soon's a good idea."

"I know that." He responded with a sigh. "I don't know what to do, mate. But I do have to go to Shipwreck Cove sometime soon."

"Why's that?" He asked.

"'Cause the Keeper's dead. And bein' the heir, I have to make it official or whatever." He explained. "I can't an' won't leave that spot open."

"But it's not safe to go there." Elizabeth reminded him. "The Royal Navy knows where it is."

"I have to try." Jack told her stubbornly. "No one lives forever, they'll probably catch me eventually anyways. Might as well risk it, eh?"

"But you'd live longer if you didn't go." Will pointed out.

The injured captain gave a bitter chuckle. "Live longer? Aye, it does sound nice, but I've given up on livin' for eternity, mate."

*X*

The doctor had left a couple of minutes ago. Jack had been left alone in his room to rest for the night. His wounds had been cleaned and bandaged, the two musket shots removed from his torso. Will had also supplied him with a clean pair of clothes. Black trousers and a white shirt along with a brown vest. He'd kept his belt and hat as well as his bandana. His boot was switched out with a new matching pair, one having a custom cut block of wood to keep the end of his peg leg from shifting around.

He sat with his back against the bed's headboard, wide awake. After a good meal and being so exhausted, one would think he'd sleep easily. But, no, he just couldn't. His effects sat on the nightstand, his peg leg on the floor with his boots. He held his compass in his hand, lid open. As he predicted, the red needle pointed towards Angelica's room. He gave a faint smirk and closed the lid, setting the compass beside his other effects.

Jack sighed, lying down completely on his back. He began to doze off as his mind began thinking things over and remembering things. But this night, that wasn't all. Nightmares came, and these ones were as real as a fake thing could get.

 _The soldiers approached quickly and Jack drew his weapons. He fired his pistol and the first of the group of soldiers crashed to the ground, dead. He knew that he could never have time to reload it and tossed the flintlock aside in the sand. The second of the group of soldiers reached him and their swords clashed. Their swords locked and he managed to slip his own free, slashing the man's leg and then stabbing him through the chest. A gunshot rang out and pain seared through his back. He let out a shout of pain as he whirled around to face the group of soldiers._

 _He spotted Angelica hiding behind the dinghy out the corner of his eye. She clearly didn't obey his order._ Women.

 _He grabbed the sword of the dead soldier and threw it like an axe. It connected with the stomach of another Navy man, who tumbled to the ground before becoming motionless. With his own weapon, he locked blades with another man and they dueled for a few moments before he broke through his defenses and stabbed him straight in between the shoulder blades from the back._

 _Jack barely spotted a dagger flying towards him and couldn't react before it plunged into the peg leg, damaging the wood. He pulled the knife free, hearing the wood splinter a tiny bit. He threw the knife back and watched it as it hit home in a soldier's neck. He gave a momentary smirk of satisfaction before it faded. There was one man left, and he had his musket locked onto him._

" _Don't fire that, mate!" He called to him._

 _Of course, the man didn't listen to him. He heard the shot and spotted the tiny version of a cannonball flying straight at his face. It was as if everything had gone slow motion for a few moments. He couldn't move either. He could only watch, doom in his stomach, as it came flying at him._

 _Just before it would have hit and killed him, he was pitched into endless blackness._

"No!" Jack screamed, eyes snapping open and arm flying through the air.

He felt it connect with something and heard a gasp of pain as well as surprise. It went quiet except for the sound of his heavy breathing slowing. He propped himself up on an elbow to see what had just happened. His eyes swept over the form of Angelica, who held her jaw and frowned at him. She sat next to the bed, though was now half lying on it after the punch she'd unintentionally received.

"Jack?" She spoke up, breaking the silence. "Are you alright?"

"Are ye?" He asked in return. "'M sorry 'bout that."

"I am fine." The Spanish woman responded.

"What are ye doin' in 'ere, love?" He questioned.

She didn't meet his gaze as she answered. "You were screaming. I was worried, Jack."

"I'm fine. It was jus' a nightmare." He assured her. Then he swallowed, muttering,"A bad one."

"Yes, that was obvious." She told him, watching him.

Jack's breathing finally settled down and he sighed quietly. He felt Angelica's eyes on him and met her gaze. She began getting to her feet and heading towards the door to go back to her own room.

"Wait." He called to her.

She turned around. "What?"

"Ye can stay if ye want." He told her.

The look in her eyes showed that she knew that he was asking her if she could stay with him. She nodded, walking back over to him. She climbed in the other side of the bed and gently kissed his cheek. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close to him.

"I'm not going anywhere, Jack." She promised.

He gave a small smile, before closing his eyes. "Good."

Jack was close to dozing off again, when he heard her whisper his name. He grumbled something inaudible.

"I love you." Angelica told him.

He sounded more Englishman than pirate when he answered. "I love you too, Angelica."

 **A/N: First part of 'Pirates' Life' is complete! Look for 'Pirates' Life: Moving On', which will probably be out later today or tomorrow! Just telling you now, it will be Rated M.**


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